GUITARIST EXTRAORDINAIRE JEF LEE JOHNSON RELEASES NEW ALBUM
By Rob Nagy
While he is not a household name and is known predominantly as a musician’s musician, Philadelphia based guitarist Jef Lee Johnson has quietly managed to build an impressive track record as a studio musician, producer and solo artist. His guitar prowess and skill has found him working with the likes of Jeff Beck, Roberta Flack, George Duke, Aretha Franklin, Al Jarreau, Mariah Carey and McCoy Tyner as well as a brief stint in the eighties as a member of Paul Schaffer’s “World’s Most Dangerous Band” of The David Letterman Show.
The product of a musical family, Johnson’s earliest influences included Herb Albert, Eric Dolphy and the Vanilla Fudge. As a young teenager Johnson discovered jazz-fusion and Chicago blues. His committed pursuit of mastering the guitar initially found him in local garage bands with friends and ultimately graduating to the ranks of accomplished studio musician, routinely doing sessions in New York and touring throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Having produced an impressive catalog of independent albums dating back to 1996, when he made his debut “Blue”, Johnson most recently released his eleventh album entitled “Longing Belonging Ongoing”, a two-disc collection of thirty tracks featuring a wide array of songs showcasing Johnson’s vocal abilities with a few instrumental tunes thrown in for good measure. Released under the moniker “aka rainbow crow”, Johnson covers a cross section of musical influences and styles that range from Jimi Hendrix to the Grateful Dead. He has again maintained his individuality and artistry, offering flawless guitar complimented by a vocal style that is engaging, deep and passionate. It is equally impressive to note that Johnson played all the instruments and did all the vocal tracks himself in the confines of his home studio. “It is my second double CD”, says Johnson. “Both were done out of spite to show people I can do a bunch of junk by myself. I don’t think people believe it. They say, ‘Well who’s the engineer? Who’s playing bass?’ They are not getting it. It’s me messing around in the house. Half of the tunes were just sitting around. Half of the tunes were kind of old – stuff that just fell out of my head.” Standout songs include the sultry “Gods Gone By”, the Hendrix style of “Silicone or Saline” and “The Moon Keeps Telling Me Things”, the funk laden “What’s In A Name”, the jazz-fusion of “Imposter” and the groovy pop sound of “The Gift”.
As an artist of substance and depth, Johnson is a true poet, a visionary, a musical voice expressing the essence of life and the day-to-day struggle that we all experience. This is the foundation of the passion and the continued awareness that Johnson pours into his music. While Johnson is anything but a failure – having achieved success on levels that most can only dream of – he admittedly is disappointed by his lack of notoriety as an artist in his own right. “I think it’s incredible on my part that I wasn’t more of an arrogant, aggressive bastard”, says Johnson. “I think I’m too humble. I should be more out there. I’m the guy. I’m the greatest this. It’s weird having these people calling me the greatest this and the greatest that, and I grew up idolizing these people, and now I’m getting a chance to play with them. If I’m so good how come I’m not more popular?” added Johnson. “It doesn’t work that way. It’s not about ‘if we’re that good or we’re that talented’, especially now. It’s about hype.” Johnson looks at his music from a very real perspective. “One of the best things I heard is somebody said, ‘It’s like real roots music.’ It’s real organic music because it’s coming out of that dirt. Out of that raw thing. It’s just got a bunch of other stuff happening. Sometimes it’s very little. It’s definitely out of a blues thing. It’s just coming from so many other things. Sometimes it’s a soul thing. Sometimes it’s a psychedelic thing. I mean that’s the core. That’s the similarity. We’re inventing and reinventing and embellishing.”
Johnson most recently played at Phoenixville’s Steel City Coffee House to a modest but adoring audience of fellow musicians and guitar aficionados that were riveted by every note. While Johnson was visibly disappointed by the light attendance of the show, he did not disappoint – playing a solid seventy-five minute set. Fronting a three-piece band, which included the impressive skills of bassist Chico Huff, and drummer Charlie Patierno, the threesome was impeccable and often mesmerizing. If there was a negative, it was the fact that the room should have been packed. Anyone that missed this show was deprived of one of the finest guitar players I have seen in a long time. Johnson heads to Paris, France this month to perform at “Sons d’Hiver” Music Festival, which has deservedly been sold out for two months. For more info on Jef Lee Johnson go to www.myspace.com/jefleejohnsonmusic
Steel City Photo by Rob Nagy
