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Alphonso Johnson Archives

Jazz is Dead, Featuring Alphonso Johnson, Announces June 2024 Tour
Concerts & Tours

Jazz is Dead, Featuring Alphonso Johnson, Announces June 2024 Tour

Alphonso Johnson and Jazz is Dead have confirmed a June outing called the “Right Outside This Lazy Summer Home” tour. The band reimagines Grateful Dead songs in a jazz context.

From the Bottom: An Iconic Bass Line Meets Rock Guitar Royalty
From the Bottom

From the Bottom: An Iconic Bass Line Meets Rock Guitar Royalty

In this episode, Paul Thompson digs into a huge hit from 1983 and the iconic bass line that carried it. George Duke, Steve Ferrone, and Alphonso Johnson bring the funk on “Stay With Me Tonight” by Jeffrey Osborne.

Alphonso Johnson and Jazz Is Dead Announce Winter Tour
Concerts & Tours

Alphonso Johnson and Jazz Is Dead Announce Winter Tour

Jazz Is Dead announced a new set of tour dates that will begin a celebration of the Grateful Dead tribute act’s 25th anniversary. The current lineup of the band includes Steve Kimock, Bobby Lee Rodgers, Pete Lavezzoli, and Alphonso Johnson.

Alphonso Johnson: Afro Blue
Bass Videos

Alphonso Johnson: Afro Blue

Kevin sent me this incredible video of Alphonso Johnson‘s band performing Mongo Santamaría’s “Afro Blue,” which was popularized by John Coltrane. This was a new group Alphonso formed earlier this year - and what a killer band it is!

Bass Players To Know: Alphonso Johnson
Bass Players To Know

Bass Players To Know: Alphonso Johnson

As a Philadelphia native, there’s a lot to live up to as a bass player. Stanley Clarke, Christian McBride, Jaco Pastorius, Gerald Veasley, Gail Ann Dorsey, Victor Bailey, and our latest bass player to know, Alphonso Johnson, all hail from the City Of Brotherly Love. Heck, you may even say that bass playing is “in the water” (pronounced “wooder”). With...

Carlos Santana/Wayne Shorter Group: Deeper Dig Deeper (Live, 1988)
Bass Videos

Carlos Santana/Wayne Shorter Group: Deeper Dig Deeper (Live, 1988)

Here’s a great old clip of the Carlos Santana/Wayne Shorter Group performing the Santana tune “Deeper, Dig Deeper” at Pori Jazz in 1988. Laying down the groove is the one and only Alphonso Johnson. Such great footage.

Weather Report with Alphonso Johnson: Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz and Mysterious Traveller (Live, 1975)
Bass Videos

Weather Report with Alphonso Johnson: Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz and Mysterious Traveller (Live, 1975)

One of the major highlights for me at the 2015 NAMM Show was finally getting the chance to meet the great Alphonso Johnson. Alphonso deserves way more credit than I think he gets – in my opinion and many others. Going back through the wealth of music he’s been a part of just offers up more proof, including this 1975...

Cobham Duke Band: “Juicy” Live with Alphonso Johnson
Bass Videos

Cobham Duke Band: “Juicy” Live with Alphonso Johnson

Juan Alderete shared this on his Facebook page a while back, saying only “this leaves me speechless.” I feel about the same way. Filmed in Montreux in 1976, this clip captures the kind of energy you just don’t see in every band. Alphonso Johnson holds down the low end with tight yet lyrical playing before taking a tasty solo at...

Columbia Releases “Weather Report: The Complete Columbia Albums 1971-1975”
New Albums

Columbia Releases “Weather Report: The Complete Columbia Albums 1971-1975”

Columbia Records “Complete” box set series rolls on this summer with the introduction of another Weather Report-focused release. Weather Report: The Complete Columbia Albums 1971-1975 kicks off with the legendary group’s original line up, anchored by bassist Miroslav Vitous, and ends up the group’s second incarnation, with bassist Alphonso Johnson. The set packages together remastered versions of Weather Report’s first...

Columbia Releases Weather Report: The Columbia Albums 1976-1982
New Albums

Columbia Releases Weather Report: The Columbia Albums 1976-1982

In 1976, a relatively unknown bassist by the name of Jaco Pastorius joined Weather Report as a full-time member – an event that brought unprecedented commercial success to the six year old band. Jaco’s impact wasn’t limited to Weather Report either. It was during this same year his solo album debuted – an album which redefined the electric bass in...

Billy Cobham / George Duke Band: “Red Baron”, Live with Alphonso Johnson
Bass Videos

Billy Cobham / George Duke Band: “Red Baron”, Live with Alphonso Johnson

Recorded live in July 1976 in Montreux, Switzerland, here’s the Cobham/Duke Band performing the groove-tastic “Red Baron”. The band includes Alphonso Johnson on bass, John Scofield on guitar, Duke on keys and Cobham on drums.

Jazz For Japan Benefit Album Features Top Name Bassists
New Albums

Jazz For Japan Benefit Album Features Top Name Bassists

A new album, entitled Jazz for Japan, has been released on iTunes, with proceeds going to the International Red Cross in Japan in an effort to benefit Japan’s earthquake and tsunami victims. The project, which was recorded in merely two days last week, features a who’s who of the jazz community, especially jazz bassists. Low-end contributors include Marcus Miller, Christian...