Calvin A. Johnson Jr.

{{Short description|American musician, producer, and actor}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2016}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox musical artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Calvin Johnson Jr. | honorific_suffix = | image = [[File:Calvin Johnson Jr Trinity Church Dec 2015.jpg|frameless|Calvin Johnson Jr. performing at the Winter Wonder Jam, Trinity Episcopal Church, December 2015]] | image_size = | landscape = | alt = | caption = Calvin Johnson Jr. performing at the Winter Wonder Jam, Trinity Episcopal Church, December 2015 | birth_name = Calvin A. Johnson Jr. | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|11|21}} | birth_place = [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, US | origin = New Orleans, LA | death_date = | death_place = | genre = [[jazz]], [[Funk music|funk]], [[brass band]], [[Soul music|soul]] | occupation = [[Saxophonist]], band leader, composer, vocalist, actor, documentary filmmaker | instrument = [[Tenor saxophone]], [[Soprano saxophone]], clarinet, flute, vocals | years_active = 1997–present | label = [[Independent record label|Independent]] | associated_acts = Calvin Johnson & Native Son, Chapter:SOUL, [[Dirty Dozen Brass Band]], [[Big Sam's Funky Nation]], [[Irvin Mayfield]] | website = {{URL|calvinjohnsonmusic.com}} }}

'''Calvin A. Johnson Jr.''' (born November 21, 1985) is an American saxophonist, bandleader, composer, producer, and actor from [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]]. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as a [[Tenor saxophone|tenor]] and [[soprano saxophone]] player but also performs and records on [[Alto saxophone|alto]] and [[baritone saxophone]]s, clarinet, and flute. He has worked with many of the biggest names in New Orleans music, including [[Aaron Neville]], [[Harry Connick Jr.]], the [[Dirty Dozen Brass Band]], [[Mystikal]], [[Irvin Mayfield]], [[Mannie Fresh]], and others. Johnson is the nephew of New Orleans clarinetist Ralph Johnson, a longtime member of the [[Preservation Hall Jazz Band]]. He began playing saxophone at the age of seven, and since 2008 has been playing with his own band, Calvin Johnson & Native Son.

==Life and career== Johnson was born in New Orleans. He grew up in the [[Black Pearl, New Orleans|Black Pearl]] neighborhood and in [[New Orleans East]]. His uncle Lionel Johnson gave him his first saxophone at the age of seven. Johnson's grandfather, George Augustus "Son" Johnson, and uncles Lionel, Alfred, and Ralph Johnson, were all New Orleans jazz musicians. At age 12, he played his first professional gig at [[Tipitina's]] French Quarter location with the New Orleans Jazz Babyz, a youth all-star band.

Johnson studied at the [[New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival#New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation|New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation]]’s School of Music and the [https://www.louisarmstrongjazzcamp.com Louis Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp] under his longtime mentor, [[Kidd Jordan|Edward "Kidd" Jordan]]. He graduated in 2003 from the [[New Orleans Center for Creative Arts]] (NOCCA), then under the direction of the late Clyde Kerr Jr.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pope|first1=John|title=Clyde Kerr Jr., musician and educator, dies at 67|url=http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2010/08/clyde_kerr_jr_musician_and_edu.html|website=Nola.com / The Times-Picayune|date=August 12, 2010 |publisher=NOLA Media Group|accessdate=23 March 2016}}</ref> His classmates included Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, [[Jonathan Batiste]], and [[Christian Scott (musician)|Christian Scott]]. After graduating from NOCCA, Johnson enrolled at [[Dillard University]] and the [[University of New Orleans]], where he obtained his undergraduate degree in finance. {{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} Johnson released his debut album ''Jewel's Lullaby'' in 2012 through his own label, Alma Records. In 2013, Johnson released his second album, ''Native Son'', through [http://www.threadheadrecords.com/ ThreadHead Records] and with support from the [[Ellis Marsalis Center for Music]] in the [[Musicians' Village|New Orleans Musicians' Village]]. In addition to his albums recorded as bandleader, Johnson can be heard as a sideman on the following albums: [[Big Sam’s Funky Nation]]'s ''Peace, Love, and Understanding'', Irvin Mayfield's ''Strange Fruit'', Courtney Bryan's ''This Little Light of Mine'', and others. {{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Johnson’s acting career began with appearances on the [[HBO]] series [[Treme (TV series)]] in 2012. Johnson's first feature-length film acting role is that of Frank Lewis in director [[Dan Pritzker]]'s film ''Bolden!'', which depicts the life of New Orleans [[cornetist]] [[Buddy Bolden]]. {{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

In August 2015 Johnson started a new funk band, [http://www.chaptersoul.com Chapter:SOUL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319054640/http://www.chaptersoul.com/ |date=March 19, 2016 }}, with Kirk Joseph of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. {{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

In December 2015, he produced a benefit concert for [https://www.habitat-nola.org New Orleans Area] [[Habitat for Humanity]] (NOAHH), at [http://www.trinitynola.com/church Trinity Episcopal Church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323154057/http://www.trinitynola.com/church |date=March 23, 2016 }} in the [[Lower Garden District]] neighborhood of New Orleans. The concert was titled ''Calvin Johnson with Strings: Winter Wonder Jam''.

Johnson serves as a faculty member of the Louis Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp. He also sits on the Board of Directors of MaCCNO (Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans), and in 2015 served as chairmen of NOCCA's (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts) annual spring gala .{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} He is also currently producing a documentary film about New Orleans musical traditions, called ''TRAD''. {{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

==Discography== ===As Bandleader=== * ''Native Son'', [http://www.threadheadrecords.com Threadhead Records], 2013 * ''Jewel's Lullaby'', Alma Records, 2012

===Appearances=== Johnson appears as a [[sideman]] on * 2010: ''This Little Light of Mine'' - [https://web.archive.org/web/20160404152656/http://www.courtneybryan.com/about.html Courtney Bryan] * 2008: ''Peace, Love and Understanding'' - [[Big Sam's Funky Nation]] * 2005: ''Strange Fruit'', [[Irvin Mayfield]] & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra ([[Basin Street Records]])

==Filmography and TV appearances==

===As actor=== * ''Bolden!'' (2015) (as Frank Lewis) * ''[[Treme (TV series)|Treme]]'', HBO - Episode #3.10, "Tipitina" (2012)

===As Director/Producer=== * ''TRAD'' (forthcoming)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links==

# [https://web.archive.org/web/20150330014343/http://www.wwoz.org/blog/321471 2015 French Quarter Fest Schedule], wwoz.org via archive.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. # [https://web.archive.org/web/20150413175705/http://lineup.nojazzfest.com/band/calvin-johnson Official website]. Accessed April 1, 2024. # Wyckoff, G. (2014) Offbeat Magazine. Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://www.offbeat.com/music/calvin-johnson-jr-native-son-alma-records/ # Spera, K. (2015) The Times Picayune NOLA.Com. Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://www.nola.com/fqfest/index.ssf/2015/04/french_quarter_festival_2015_f_5.html # Irrerra, J. (2015) Offbeat Magazine. Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://www.offbeat.com/articles/french-quarter-fest-2015-z/ # Carlon, M. (2015) JazzTimes Magazine. Retrieved April 13, 2015, from https://jazztimes.com/articles/17669-about-jazztimes # Selig, A. (Feb 22, 2015). Northwest Catholic event marks Black History Month. West Hartford News. Retrieved from http://www.westhartfordnews.com/articles/2015/02/22/news/doc54e5350882aba341708648.txt # Big Sam's Funky Nation (Musical group). (2008). Peace, love & understanding. New Orleans, La.?: Big Sam's Funky Nation. Retrieved From https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Peace%2C+love+and+Understanding&dblist=638&fq=yr%3A2008&qt=facet_yr%3A#x0%253Amusic-%2C%2528x0%253Amusic%2Bx4%253Acd%2529format # Mayfield, I., Pierce, W., New Orleans Jazz Orchestra., & Dillard University. (2005). Strange fruit. New Orleans: Basin Street. Retrieved from https://www.worldcat.org/title/strange-fruit/oclc/60677292&referer=brief_results

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jr., Calvin A.}} [[Category:1985 births]] [[Category:21st-century American male actors]] [[Category:21st-century American saxophonists]] [[Category:American bandleaders]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Male actors from New Orleans]] [[Category:Musicians from New Orleans]]