Blog of a Jazz Singer - Marc Courtney Johnson - WEB JOURNAL

Image Courtesy of the Chicago Board or Trade

Well January is in the books and what a month it has been. Check out the timeline...

JANUARY 18th: In a completely unexpected (but pleasant) incident, I got to meet jazz giant, and living legend Ramsey Lewis and was including in the Greeting Party as he visited the Chicago Board of Trade Agricultural Floor. He is such an amazing talent and a perfect gentleman.

JANUARY 19th: I received a very encouraging write up in the Reader from jazz historian, writer, and Jockey Neil Tesser, leading up to my gig at the Jazz Showcase. In it Neil writes:

Marc Courtney Johnson's self-released, self-titled debut disk (available through his web site, Dreamyjazz.com) came out in 2004, though you probably haven't heard of it, or of him: he's pursuing vocal jazz as a sideline to a career in Web Programming, so he's had relatively few gigs and little exposure. That's a shame, because Johnson has plenty of promise, both as a singer- his throaty tenor gets up into the Aaron Neville range- and as a songwriter; the more seasoning he gets, the better he'll sound. The album, like his stage work; has some valleys but some real peaks as well: he'll sometimes bite off a bit more than he can chew in terms of phrasing, tempo, or intonation, but he gets kudos for stretching toward tougher material, and he has a sure sense of what the music should do or say. Also on the plus side, Johnson works with a marvelous trio led by pianist Dan Cray, and he picks some unexpected but welcome material, such as tunes by Bill Lee (Spike's dad) and Luther Vandross. Well Worth hearing. He opens for Marshall Vente's Project 9, featuring singer Greta Pope and tenor titan Billy Harper, on the third night of this year's Marshall Vente Jazz Festival.

I'll take a review like that any day of the week!!

Marc Courtney Johnson and the Dan Cray Trio at the Jazz Showcase

JANUARY 21st: I had a fantastic gig with the Dan Cray Trio as a part of Marshall Vente's Jazz Festival!
The turnout was fantastic, we were on, and I'm looking forward to getting back to those hallowed halls sooner rather than later.

 

 

 

 

Kurt Elling sitting in at Vonski's Open jam

JANUARY 24th: Sat in on Vonksi's 25th Anniversary of his open Jam at the New Apartment Lounge where 7 Time Grammy Nominated Kurt Elling and a host of Vonski's protege's and contemporaries made their appearances. This was a B-L-A-S-T(more about this in a later post)!