Josh Johnson
GROUNDTONE (Day 1)
Josh Johnson, a saxophonist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and Grammy Award-winning producer, plays selections from his second solo album, Unusual Object, a striking work of futuristic jazz and modern composition.
His solo debut Freedom Exercise (Northern Spy) was featured in Rolling Stone’s Best Music of 2020 and Bandcamp’s Best Jazz Albums of 2020. Pitchfork called the record “excellent, daringly melodic” and PostGenre praised it as “a songwriting marvel”. Johnson is a regular collaborator with some of contemporary music’s most innovative artists, including Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, Nate Mercereau, Marquis Hill, and Kiefer.
He can also be heard on wide-ranging records by artist such as Harry Styles, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Moonchild, Broken Bells, Miley Cyrus, Louis Cole and Carlos Niño, among others.
GROUNDTONE is PS21’s new music festival—a weekend-long celebration of adventurous music making, with dazzling performances by fresh, singular voices from across today’s musical landscape.
The festival presents concerts in nontraditional, immersive settings all across our grounds—in the round, in the fields, and beyond.
Part of Upstate Art Weekend, GROUNDTONE is all ages, with something for everyone—free workshops and performances during the day, and ticketed shows each evening. Food and drink will be available all weekend.
Weekend passes are just $75. Day passes are also available for Friday and Saturday, or purchase tickets to any individual show.
Josh Johnson is a saxophonist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and Grammy Award-winning producer. His unique presence and tone is immediately recognizable, and paired with his superlative musicianship, have made him a sought-after collaborator. Johnson regularly performs and records with some of contemporary music’s most innovative artists, including Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, Meshell Ndegeocello, Brandee Younger, and Joel Ross.
Johnson is a member of the innovative quintet SML, whose 2024 debut album, Small Medium Large, (International Anthem) was released to wide acclaim and a Billboard cameo on the Contemporary Jazz charts. Johnson’s other most recent recording projects include a pair of trio albums in 2025: Openness Trio (Blue Note), with Nate Mercereau and Carlos Niño and Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes (International Anthem), with IAP colleague Gregory Uhlmann and LA jazz fixture Sam Wilkes.
Jeff Parker’s lauded ETA IVtet recordings – 2022’s Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy (Eremite Records) and 2024’s The Way Out of Easy (International Anthem/Nonesuch) – both garnered Pitchfork’s ‘Best New Music’ accolade and featured Johnson on saxophone and effects as part of the longstanding quartet (the latter of which debuted on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz charts). This further cements Johnson as a fixture of Parker’s catalog, following notable contributions to 2016’s The New Breed and 2020’s Suite for Max Brown.
Johnson’s solo debut, 2019’s Freedom Exercise (Northern Spy) was featured in Rolling Stone’s Best Music of 2020 and Bandcamp’s Best Jazz Albums of 2020. Pitchfork called the record “excellent, daringly melodic” and PostGenre praised it as “a songwriting marvel”. His second solo album, 2024’s Unusual Object (Northern Spy), contains a striking collection of futuristic jazz and modern composition. This work for processed saxophone and subtle electronics displays Johnson further sharpening his unique compositional voice. Unusual Object, Johnson says, “is a development and documentation of a more personal world of sound – “what’s it like for me to create the context for my sound, to frame it myself?”
Between 2018 and 2022, Johnson held the role of Musical Director for soul singer Leon Bridges, with whom he also played keyboards and saxophone. During his time with Bridges, Johnson performed throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, with performances at the Hollywood Bowl, Glastonbury and the Sydney Opera House. Along with Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes), Johnson arranged 14 of Bridges’ songs for a performance with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, also contributing a choral arrangement and directing the concert.
Johnson is quickly gaining notoriety as an in-demand record producer. He produced Meshell Ndegeocello’s album The Omnichord Real Book (Blue Note), which was awarded the 2024 Grammy for Best Alternative Jazz Album. Johnson also contributed writing to several tracks for Ndegeocello’s follow-up, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin (Blue Note). His distinctive sound can be heard on wide-ranging recordings by artists such as Harry Styles, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Moonchild, Keifer, Broken Bells, Miley Cyrus, Louis Cole and Carlos Niño, among many others. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
