Marc Johnson

Johnson first built his name through participation in Bill Evans' final rhythm section, while his contributions to Bass Desires—a guitar-driven ensemble boasting Bill Frisell alongside John Scofield—highlighted his broad range of skills. During his studies at North Texas State University, he performed in an ensemble that also featured Lyle Mays. His path took him through Woody Herman's Orchestra in 1977, Bill Evans from 1978 to 1980, Stan Getz from 1981 to 1982, and John Abercrombie in 1983, after which he launched Bass Desires in 1985. That band produced two compelling albums for ECM. In 1989 Johnson recorded a sequence of duets with assorted leading players for EmArcy, and in 1993 he headed Right Brain Patrol, a trio completed by guitarist Ben Monder and percussionist Arto Tuncboyaci that released material on JMT. He arrived at Verve with 1997's The Sound of Summer Running; If Trees Could Fly appeared two years later.