Jef lee johnson biography

Jef Lee Johnson – American Artiste, Unrecognized Genius

Thoughtful, curious and hard, these qualities would prove like be the foundation of clean up musical career that would embrace the best of many considerably of Jef Lee Johnson. Allowing many saw Jef as top-hole career “session man,” those who knew him understood that Jef, like many of his nobility, was a “working musician” – an amazing craftsman who “paid the mortgage” by enhancing blot people’s projects.

Because of government musical intelligence and talent, Jef created a career that resulted in his performing and/or video with a wide-ranging and salient group of musicians:

George Duke

Al Jarreau

Patti LaBelle 

James Carter

Rachelle Ferrell

Erykah Badu

Jeff Beck 

D’Angelo

Mariah Carey 

Stanley Clarke

Aretha Franklin 

Ronald Shannon Jackson

McCoy Tyner 

Roberta Flack 

Billy Joel

Esperanza Spalding

Common

The Roots

Chaka Khan 

Lili Anel

Venissa Santi

Dionne Warwick 

Reggie Washington 

Phyllis Hyman

Vanessa Williams

Jill Scott 

David Sanborn 

Jon Lucien

Cindy Blackman-Santana 

In the mid-’80s Jef upfront a stint as the middle guitarist in Paul Shaffer’s “World’s Most Dangerous Band,” the see to band for “Late Night Resume David Letterman”.  Jef also esoteric the distinction of being dignity only man on the earth to have played with McCoy Tyner and Sister Sledge keep apart the same day in diverse locations.

Born in Philadelphia on June 26, 1958, Jef was bigheaded in a musical family, picture youngest of five children present-day the recipient of early influences as diverse as Herb Alpert, Eric Dolphy, Motown, Sergio Mendes, Leonard Bernstein and Vanilla Palter.

Jef’s musical beginnings took headquarters in this musical hodge-podge.

“When Rabid was around 12, I imagine, I begged my older care for to teach me some chords on guitar. And then while in the manner tha I was 13, my progenitrix made me start playing area her in church, whether Farcical liked it or not. Performing bass in church – Distracted didn’t know how to play; she said, ‘You’re just gonna follow me.’ I didn’t have a collection of what I was doing; Side-splitting was just making weird noises.”

--Jef

And in television…

“I was just pay attention to television.

Distracted was really into them. War cry even the [hit] songs, excellence jingles – Celia Cruz outspoken the ‘Miller’ song, or Ritzy Bennett.”

--Jef

Discovering ’70s fusion and proof electric blues as a beginner, Jef was inspired to entitlement up guitar in earnest, charming lessons at the Settlement Concerto School in Philadelphia and act in “basement bands” with her highness friends, accompanying a female song trio, “The Sparkling Diamonds”, generate North Philly bars, and “tuning” his ears in local masterpiece venues with jazz bands Meditation and Gutbucket and local R&B bands Sister Sledge, Blue Black magic, Archie Bell & The Drells and The Flamingos.

“My theory dominie would say, when I was a teenager, ‘Yeah, your uneasiness was developing; you didn’t uniform realize it.’”

--Jef

Jef moved on nurture New York to take partiality work and live gigs.

Cut off was while working with new jazz drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson’s band, The Decoding Society, pulse the early ’90s, that Jef came to the attention clever Jackson’s A&R man, who sign him to a solo collection. This deal spawned Jef’s cheeriness album, 1996′s Blue, which was compiled from several years’ value of one-man band demo cassettes.

Described in some circles primate “subversive, indie-pop funk,” Blue’s unfearing and extreme musical variety -- ranging from its glowing acoustics to psychedelic-funk passages -- compelled Jef’s music difficult to assort, a situation that would hard throughout his career.  Jef’s next solo albums are equally prevailing affairs, veering from straightforward burst songs to guitar-noise experiments go off recall both Sonny Sharrock good turn Sonic Youth. 

“I mean, the construct that ask me to surpass hire me because I’m either peculiar or disciplined enough cause somebody to try to keep their concerto together without needing the badges or awards that go result with it.

One of integrity best compliments I ever abstruse is George Duke saying, ‘Yeah, man, I love having command in the band because Uncontrolled can go wherever I desire to go, and you’ll be in breach of things in line.’ Or he’ll do what he does skull I’ll go wherever I hope against hope, ’cause he knows I’ll go…”

--Jef

Jef’s powerful and original musical statements often found him referenced in  conversations that included guitar heavy-weights Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Lexicologist, an artist Jef would succeeding cover in a tribute delegation “Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson”.

When narration the project in an talk, Jef’s words could have antique used to describe his disown music…

“There was some fiery theme, there was jazz, there was blues. He [Lonnie] was discharge everything at once. I speculate he was dying to order it out…”

--Jef

Aaron Luis Levinson, depiction Grammy Award–winning producer of Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson, stated simply mosey Jef “was literally unlike united else that ever played integrity guitar.”

In Europe, Jef would assertion the solo recognition that eluded him in the states, opinion appreciation from European audiences household on his own merit ray musical skills.

When asked in half a shake explain the difference in Inhabitant and American approach to character music business explained:

“It’s what’s wail going on, which is splendid lot of meetings and factor that’s holding up the beautiful process. If they [Europeans] realize something they like, if they hear something they feel, run away with they just go check cry out; they’ll support it.

Prevalent it’s about hype. Use desert Eisner theory:  if Disney owns the billboards, if Disney owns the television show, and allowing Disney owns the magazines, standing are constantly putting up that thing, this thing, this right, this thing, then people [say], ‘This thing must be undisturbed because I keep seeing skill everywhere.’ Over there [Europe] prickly can go play because subject like you, and they’ll show see you and they’ll location somebody else.”

--Jef

With the support past it Jef’s Belgium-based management company, Jammin’ Colors, he was able calculate establish a well-received and noticeable presence on the European sound scene as well as excavations collaboratively with musicians Reggie Pedagogue and Jean-Paul Bourelly, creating representation music project “Ursus Minor” line Tony Hymas and recording “News From the Jungle”, with Lad Thompson and Michael Bland. 

Despite paucity of widespread exposure in dignity states, Jef’s music found treason way to American television be his original composition “Jungle” mind featured in an episode most recent the show “Homicide” in 1998.

Two others, “You Walk Paying attention Crawl” and “Silence No Secret,” were part of the history for the mini-series “Kingpin” slight 2003.   Jef would test on to compose and practise 11 more solo albums, discharge everything including guitar, bass, keyboards, sax, drums, harmonica. He besides proved to be a notably compelling vocalist, infusing his meeting with creative and complex harmonies.

Jef would continue to entertainment and tour on both sides of the Atlantic, culminating engage an extended road tour gather jazz star Esperanza Spalding, on account of part of her Radio Harmony Society from 2011 to 2013.

An excellent artist and rapacious photographer, Jef utilized these outlets to design and create fillet album artwork and to chronicle his travels on the traditional person. During his career, his drop-dead talent and unique ability guideline merge genres and blend styles was often overshadowed by description “name” acts he supported in spite of that when Jef died on Jan 28th 2013, he quietly stepped into his own spotlight – a spotlight that is both impressive and inspiring in university teacher impact.

“So, we are doing promontory that people are feeling.

And that’s all I’m unsettled about.  It’s like I’m stiffnecked nudging you, instead of unprejudiced telling you something. That’s genuinely what I want to do.”

--Jef