The Jazz Philosopher
By Frank Alkyer
Sean Jones is riding a career high right now. And he’s doing it in a very modern way. In today’s jazz world, those who can play, teach. It’s a large part of what makes the jazz economy and ecosystem work in 2022 and beyond. So, Jones just signed a new 10-year contract with the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
By Bill Milkowski
By Tina Edwards, Ammar Kalia, Martin Longley, Peter Margasak and Brian Morton
Bassist Marc Johnson says, “Rhythmically, a bassist has to perform very secure and confident phrases to really communicate their ideas clearly. That is true of any improvising musician, but especially a bass player.” He’s a veteran who broke into the spotlight with Bill Evans, joining up with him in 1978. His bands included Bass Desires (with Bill Frisell and John Scofield) and Right Brain Patrol. He serves as the anchor for his wife Eliane Elias’s band. And, in 2021, he released an adventurous solo album, Overpass, on ECM, which received 4.5 stars in the December issue of DownBeat. At his home study in East Hampton, New York, Johnson took his very first DownBeat Blindfold Test.
