Sean Johnson

Santa Fe-based Saxophonist & Composer

About

Sean was born in San Francisco, CA and grew up in the southwest (back and forth between Arizona and New Mexico). Currently residing in Santa Fe, NM, he enjoys a multifaceted career as a performer, composer, and entrepreneur. In addition to his active performance schedule, Sean is owner/operator of Mesa Creative Solutions, a digital marketing agency, and co-founder of Wigler Group, a new business development firm.

His performance credits include Jazz Lincoln Center, Monterey Jazz Festival, Festival Miami and the Blue Whale, to name a few. He has received a host of music accolades and has worked closely with many of the industry's finest, including Terence Blanchard, Jason Palmer, Fabian Almazan, John Hart, Dafnis Prieto, Vijay Iyer, Kendrick Scott, and Brice Winston, among others. 

In 2018, Sean’s Miami-based group, Kairos Sextet, released its debut album Transition to critical acclaim on GRAMMY Award-winning bandleader Dafnis Prieto’s Dafnison Music label.

Currently, Sean performs actively as a member of the John Rangel quintet and has formed a new trio with Cyrus Campbell (bass) and Rich Malloy (drums) called Mountain Standard Time. Check Sean’s upcoming gigs for his full performance and tour schedule as a leader and sideman.

Music

A Flower is a Lovesome Thing

Personnel:

​featuring Veronica Swift - vocal

​Sean Johnson - tenor sax

Matt Wigler - piano
Lowell Ringel - bass
Marcelo Perez - drums

Album

KAIROS SEXTET

Sam Neufeld, trumpet
Tom Kelley, alto & soprano saxophones
Sean Johnson, tenor saxophone
Nick Lamb, piano
Jon Dadurka, upright & electric basses
Johnathan Hulett, drums

Produced by Sean Johnson
Executive Producer: Dafnis Prieto

Engineered & Mixed by Chris Palowitch 
Mastered by Will Dyar, Hills Audio

Art Direction: BSIDE Graphics 

Originally formed as the seminal Dafnis Prieto Artist Prieto Ensemble at the Frost School of Music, accordingly, the ensemble principally performed original material and Prieto’s own musical works. Having formed close ties with their mentor and leader, and strong musical bonds as a unit, the group reorganized as a professional ensemble under the moniker Kairos Sextet.

In September 2016, Kairos cut its first commercial recording project, Transition, with Prieto as executive producer. The studio session was book-ended by Kairos’s first multi-city tour with performances in Miami, San Francisco Bay Area, Monterey, and Los Angeles, with appearances at several high-profile venues including two stage performances at the Monterey Jazz Festival and a live-filmed performance at the Blue Whale.

Kairos is comprised of a few of the Frost School of Music’s most star-studded alumni: on alto and soprano saxophone, Tom Kelley, a 2012-2013 Brubeck Fellow and award-winning composer; on trumpet Sam Neufeld, winner of the 2015 National Trumpet Competition - Jazz Division; on tenor saxophone, Sean Johnson, the ensemble's leader and producer of Kairos Sextet’s first record; pianist and keyboardist, Nick Lamb, a recipient of 10 DownBeat Student Music Awards and a host of music accolades; upright and electric bassist, Jon Dadurka, Director of Jazz Studies at Broward College; and drummer Johnathan Hulett, a 2013 Yamaha Young Performing Artist competition winner and recipient of 7 DownBeat Student Music Awards.

Gigs

Press

  • "The excitement of Transition...comes from the way the recording fuses youthful energy with a sense of discipline and intelligence that keeps the intriguing form first step to last."

    Michael Roberts

  • "A terrific release that is likely to end up on many "best debut" lists for 2018, Transition is well-named, as it signals the arrival of a promising group truly finding its own path."

    Troy Dostert

  • "[Kairos Sextet has] evolved into an ensemble whose solo abilities and big collective sound put them in the first rank of contemporary groups."

    Doug Ramsey

  • "The sextet proves to have that desirable rapport that allows them to scintillate with creativity. Each individual statement feels hand-in-glove with the written material and [Dafnis] Prieto has all the reasons to be flattered and proud of this band."

    Felipe Freitas

  • With each track highlighting a tightly wound arrangement, Transition is a sure-fire winner and harbinger of greater things to come."

    Mike Jurkovic