Unusual Object, by Josh Johnson

Unusual Object

by Josh Johnson

supported by

Charlie Moonbeam The creativity and sensitivity of Josh Johnson is on full display here, I can already tell it's a triumph Favorite track: Quince.

Andrew Jervis Completely floored by the artistry.

brndsil This moves me in a way that nothing else does. My favorite release of 2024 so far. I won't be surprised if this becomes my favorite jazz record of the year. Favorite track: Quince.

Carlos Niño Music Josh Johnson is so very Special! In Tone, Creativity, Techniques, Experimentation, and Energetic Presence. Stoked deeply for this new album! Pre-order of the LP in effect. Highly recommended!

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1.	Who Happens If 01:25	buy track
2.	Marvis 07:05	buy track
3.	Telling You 02:43	buy track
4.	Quince 06:26	buy track
5.	Deep Dark 02:01	buy track
6.	Jeanette 04:41	buy track
7.	Reddish 01:46	buy track
8.	Sterling 04:37	buy track
9.	Local City of Industry 01:21	buy track
10.	Free Mechanical 02:35	buy track
11.	All Alone 04:09	buy track

about

Josh Johnson’s latest solo record, Unusual Object is a world of sound. Johnson’s fantastically processed saxophone and subtle samples and grooves give this work a sort of cyberpunk ambient jazz feel that occasionally crosses into realms akin to classic Warp Records and Jon Hassell’s dreamworld tonalities. But however fantastical and dreamlike Unusal Object may be, these qualities only serve to bring the listener closer to Johnson, to his breath, his sense of song. What, after all, could be more intimate than sitting inside someone’s fantasies and dreams?

Johnson executes this all with an indelible elegance, establishing him as a worthy contemporary of fellow modern avant-garde composers like Lea Bertucci, Ian William Craig, and Kelly Moran. Like the latter’s carefully considered prepared piano compositions, Unusual Object is stately, personal, and patently modern.

Johnson is a highly in-demand collaborator, working often with Makaya McCraven, Marquis Hill and The Chicago Underground Quartet. He produced and played on Meshell Ndegeocello’s 2024 Grammy-winning The Omnichord Real Book and worked for many years as musical director for Leon Bridges. He’s appeared on recordings by Broken Bells, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Harry Styles and his playing shines brilliantly on the Jeff Parker ETA Quartet’s Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy. Johnson indeed is an indelible part of the Los Angeles scene that gave shape to André 3000’s audaciously transcendent New Blue Sun. But Johnson is no mere supporting character.

Last year, he made a change. Pulling away from some of his more rigid gigs, Johnson chose to venture further into the realms of his own playing and to further sharpen his own compositional voice. Unusual Object, Johnson says, “is a development and documentation of a more personal world of sound.” This development has been ongoing, for sure, but often in the context of other people’s music. With Unusual Object Johnson asks: “What’s it like for me to create the context for my sound, to frame it myself?”

The answer is the spare but endlessly engaging Unusual Object, a work of futuristic jazz and modern composition that will appeal to fans of everything from Oneohtrix Point Never to Shabaka Hutchings, from Plaid to Ornette Coleman.

credits

released April 5, 2024

All sounds by Josh Johnson; except “Quince” which contains drum samples by Aaron Steele
All compositions and arrangements by Josh Johnson (Sky and City Music, BMI); except “All Alone” by Mal Waldron
Produced by Josh Johnson & Paul Bryan
Recorded by Paul Bryan in Pacific Palisades & Josh Johnson in Glassell Park
Mixed by Paul Bryan
Mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters
Lacquer cut by Phil Rodriguez at Elysian Masters
Sequenced by Josh Johnson, Paul Bryan, & Anna Butterss
Design and Layout by Bucky Boudreau

license

about

Josh Johnson Los Angeles, California

Josh Johnson is a saxophonist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and Grammy Award-winning producer.

shows

Aug 3

Variety Playhouse

Atlanta, GA
Aug 8

Houston Improv

Houston, TX
Aug 9

Arlington Improv

Arlington, TX
Aug 9

Arlington Improv

Arlington, TX
Aug 10

Arlington Improv

Arlington, TX
Aug 10

Arlington Improv

Arlington, TX
Aug 11

Arlington Improv

Arlington, TX
Oct 13

Pittsburgh Improv

Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 13

Pittsburgh Improv

Pittsburgh, PA

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