bruce johnstone

Bruce was often the go-to guy in Maynard's band for burning solos at ball-busting tempos. For my blog, I've transcribed a tune (my tune!) featuring Bruce's soft and seductive side. The result is a lovely little etude with some serious musical wisdom embedded into it. This is the first bari...

So. This new CD, House of Relics, the product of nearly 2 years of rehearsing, performing, and recording with this group, features bari-legend Bruce Johnstone on 3 tracks. Bruce was a musical hero of mine way back when I was a punk kid (now, of course, I'm well into punk adulthood) -- I played...

I've just finished my final recording session with my group Harder Bop, with Bruce Johnstone as a special guest. Here is his feature, short & sweet -- this is an unmixed session tape, and it already sounds, if I may say so myself, pretty damn great! THIS is why I wanted Bruce to play on my...

I was a kid, not even a teenager, when I first heard Bruce Johnstone playing with Maynard Ferguson. Eventually I had every MF recording, and had ALL of Bruce's solos memorized -- he's one of a handful of "iconic" baritone saxophonists who sort of codified what the big horn "oughta" sound like...

Heard Bruce Johnstone last night, and he made a point of showing me the piece he was playing: one of them newfangled Drake ceramic deals. Bruce has been a Lawton guy *forever*, and it was downright shocking to see him playing something else. He said he'd just gotten it and this was his first gig...