
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Detroit, MI. in 1956, Randy Johnston moved to Richmond, Va. when he was 13 years old. Since arriving in New York after attending the University of Miami, Fl. in the late 70's and early 80's he has performed and recorded with such jazz notables as LouDonaldson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Houston Person, Lionel Hampton, Lee Konitz and Tom Harrell. Randy has toured the world many times concertizing including stints in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa.
The key to this guitarist's appeal is how successfully he has blended various inspirations to create a fiery jazz/blues style that reaches both the head and heart. Some of Randy's influences are Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, George Benson, B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix. October 2003 marked the release of "Hit and Run", Randy's 8th recording as a leader and his 3rd on Highnote Records. His previous 7 CD's , "Detour Ahead". "Homage", "Riding the Curve", "Somewhere in the Night", "In -A Cord", "Julilation", and "Walk On" have all received critical acclaim and commercial success
In addition to his performance and compositional talents, Randy Johnston has achieved distinction as an Educator.
He is currently on the jazz faculty at New york University, the State University of New York at Purchase, New York and the Hart School of Music at the University of Hartford, Ct. Randy was featured on the Cover of Just Jazz Guitar Magazine in May 2004.
His music fuses blues and hard bop together. Randy's playing is very lyrical and swings hard. His music communicates
with the audience and keeps them involved. Randy's newly released CD (2005), "Is It You ?" has reached number 6 on the Jazz Charts.
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