GABRIEL JOHNSON
Genres: Hard Bop, Pop, Art Song, Folk, Jazz Related Electronica, Hip-Hop, Acid Jazz • United States

Gabriel Johnson was born in Santa Clara, California in 1980 and grew up in Salinas, California. Early on, his greatest musical influence was his grandmother who always preached to him the importance of the arts and, most importantly, jazz. “She was the one who told me I really needed to go hear Dizzy play in 1989 at the Monterey Jazz Festival. It was there that I heard not only Dizzy but another of the all time greats, Freddie Hubbard. That was about all it took for me to say, ‘this is what I want to do.’” After practicing obsessively throughout middle and high school, Gabriel attended Boston’s prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. While there he studied under the tutelage of jazz greats Steve Lacy, Danilo Perez, George Garzone, John McNeil and Bob Moses. After completing his education in Boston, he decided to return to his California roots, only this time read more...