We recently connected with Greg Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Greg, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I’m often jealous of friends who are able to clock in and out of work. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to come home at 5pm every day, turn on the game and make a cocktail.

For the past two years as a professor, my schedule does in fact get out at 5pm. However, there is usually a long drive to an even longer gig or a pile of writing projects with pressing deadlines waiting for me on my piano when I get home. I’ve built my life as an educator, performer and composer. I have friends that do each of these things separately but very few who do all three. When my professor friends are sleeping, I am out performing. When my performing friends are sleeping, I am up teaching. In my free time I try to get as much writing done as possible.

Last year, I remember driving back to Sacramento (my home) from gig at the tail end of a tour in Orange County. I’d played about 9 nights in a row all over the country and was driving back through the night to teach an 8am class at Sacramento State the next day. I had a massive writing project due at the end of that week. I was super stressed. I thought about my friends who had a nice restful weekend and seriously thought about pursuing a regular job.

I thought back to when I was a young aspiring musician and remembered dreaming of seeing the world, performing music and gaining the respect of older established musicians. Achieving that dream has been very gratifying and while taxing on my body and my mind, has been worth the extra effort.

The thought of getting a regular job is a frequent one in my brain. Ultimately, I’ve channelled so much energy and passion in to music that I don’t think there is any kind of regular job out there for me.

Greg, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been playing the saxophone for about 30 years. I found the music of Duke Ellington, David Sanborn, Cannonball Adderley pretty early in my life and got hooked to the music.

I moved to LA in 2009 and started playing with some of the bands that I grew up listening to. In the same year, I played with the Bob Mintzer Big Band, Saint Motel, Barry Manilow, Robin Thicke, and Take 6. I did studio work and ultimately started writing music for larger ensembles: big band, jazz nonet, concert band, small orchestras, etc.

I moved to the Bay Area in 2015 to become a teacher and subsequently a professor. I’ve presented clinics to just about every age of music student and take pride in connecting with each age group. I think that is reflective in my writing, which has been getting steady performance throughout the states of California and Nevada in schools, colleges and with professional organizations.

When I went to music school I wanted to become the world’s greatest sax player. I wanted to be the guy that could play higher, faster and louder than everyone else. As composing became a priority in my life, I had the realization that the loudest voice doesn’t always need to win. There is elegance in honesty and compassion, which comes through in a musical ensemble.

I love when people tell me that they feel certain things when they hear my music and I feel fortunate to be in a position where I can put time and energy into an honest product.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I grew up playing competitive sports. There was always the need to win. Society is so obsessed with winning. Even in the arts (to this day) there are Jazz festivals that can affect the careers and funding of school programs. The skills needed to “win” in high school and college Jazz competition do not translate to success as an artist after school. I had to re-wire my brain to see that other people’s success was good for me. Though I haven’t won a GRAMMY (yet) many of my young peers are starting to win GRAMMYs with really creative, original music. This creates interest in creative music. It is good for everyone.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve been moving more and more towards composing full time. Though my music has been widely performed, I’ve never had much luck with mainstream sheet music publishers. I hear from a lot of my peers that while my music is interesting, there is nothing particularly interesting about my name, age or demographic. I’ve actually lost work because of the last two.

There was a five year stretch where I was runner-up for every job that applied for. At first I saw the upside; I came in second out of 400 applicants! By the 11th job, I began to feel like there might be something wrong with me that was keeping me from getting past this barrier. Every time I was rejected, I decided to come back bigger and badder for the next opportunity until my product was undeniable.

By 2021, I had four job offers from major colleges, hundreds of performance requests and a growing series of commissions for my writing. I’m still striving to improve and create more authentic, expressive music.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gregjohnsonjazz.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZJI9kNxvkRLDXLIV85_hWg

Image Credits

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