Scott Johnson
American composer and guitarist Scott Johnson incorporated modern instrumentation such as the electric guitar into his works. His music was heard in performances by Kronos Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and his own ensembles; and in dance works performed by the Boston Ballet, the London Contemporary Dance Theater, and the Ballets de Monte Carlo. His music was recorded for the Nonesuch, CRI, Point, and Tzadik labels.
The New York-based composer started out in Wisconsin, where he was raised, and studied visual arts at university. In addition to his major, Johnson played in local rock bands and took music theory courses during this time. After relocating to N.Y.C. in 1975, he focused solely on visual arts for a few years before his music interest was reignited by working on a sound sculpture. Johnson composed "How It Happens" for Kronos Quartet. "John Somebody," one of his most acclaimed compositions, has been recorded by several ensembles on various record labels. Patty Hearst was released on Tzadik in 2007 (it served as the score for director Paul Schrader's film of the same name in 2008).
In 2010, Johnson released Americans (also on Tzadik), including a three-movement, six-years-in-the-making composition of the same name based on the experience of immigrants in the United States. Johnson also published articles and essays on contemporary music, one of which is excerpted in Piero Weiss and Richard Taruskin's influential volume Music in the Western World. His writings were set in landscapes that mixed pop sensibilities with classical rigor. He lectured on his music and ideas at leading conservatories and universities, including the San Francisco and Peabody conservatories, Senzaku Ongaku Daigaku, New York University, the Manhattan School of Music, and Yale University.
In 2014, Johnson's 74-minute, eight-movement suite Mind Out of Matter was performed by the 18-piece contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound with sampled recordings by philosopher Daniel C. Dennett in a premiere at the Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University as part of its adventurous Peak Performances series. In February of 2018, Tzadik issued a recording of Johnson's Mind Out of Matter, again performed by Alarm Will Sound with Dennett's sampled voice. Johnson died in New York, New York from aspiration pneumonia on March 24, 2023. He was 70 years old, the same age as his wife, music publicist Marlisa Monroe, who died the same day.
© Joslyn Layne /TiVo
Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Mind Out of Matter
Alternative & Indie - Released by Tzadik on 23 Feb 2018
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Scott Johnson
Rock - Released by You Sound Bitter Music on 1 Jan 2007
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Words of Love (Mots D'amour)
Jazz - Released by Scojo Music Entertainment on 21 Jul 2023
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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New Voices New World
Pop - Released by Googol Press on 1 Jan 2004
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Comfy Cozy Are We
Christmas Music - Released by Scojo Music Entertainment on 12 Dec 2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Golf, It's What Guinness Is Fore! (Live at McDuff's) (Live)
Folk - Released by Googol on Music on 22 Nov 2024
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
One Sunday Morning in New Orleans
Jazz - Released by Scojo Music Entertainment on 7 Jul 2024
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
I Will Sing You To Me
Pop - Released by Googol on Music on 29 Nov 2024
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Time to Celebrate (feat. Chris Daniels)
Pop - Released by Googol on Music on 21 Nov 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Suppress the Oppressor
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by ILL ENTERPRISES on 3 May 2017
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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I Will Sing You to Me
Rock - Released by Googol on Music on 2 Feb 2017
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
As The Leaves Fall (feat. Mark Oblinger)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Googol on Music on 20 Nov 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
H and C
Punk / New Wave - Released by ILL ENTERPRISES on 13 Oct 2017
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Thou Shall Enjoy (World Singing Day)
Rock - Released by Googol on Music on 28 Nov 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Just a Heartbeat Away
International Pop - Released by Googol Press on 1 Sep 1999
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo