Marc Johnson

by Scott Yanow
Marc Johnson gained his initial reputation as a member of Bill Evans' last rhythm section and his work with Bass Desires (a group featuring both Bill Frisell and John Scofield on guitars) showed off his versatility. While at North Texas State University, Johnson played with a group that included Lyle Mays. He was with Woody Herman's Orchestra (1977), Bill Evans (1978-1980), Stan Getz (1981-1982), and John Abercrombie (1983) before forming Bass Desires (1985). The latter group recorded two intriguing albums for ECM. In 1989, Marc Johnson made a series of duets with various all-stars for EmArcy and in 1993, he led the group Right Brain Patrol, a trio with guitarist Ben Monder and percussionist Arto Tuncboyaci that recorded for JMT. He landed at Verve for 1997's The Sound of Summer Running; If Trees Could Fly followed two years later.