Gordy Johnson 

Piano Tuner & Technician

Yes, I'm also a JAZZ BASS PLAYER

My Long-Winded Music Résumé


Eastman School of Music graduate, Gordon Johnson toured extensively throughout the ‘70s & ‘80s with Gene Bertoncini, Roy BuchananMaynard Ferguson, Chuck Mangione, Doc Severinsen and the Paul Winter Consort. 


I also produced five critically acclaimed jazz piano trio CDs between 1995 & 2008. Each includes a mix of Twin Cities and visiting internationally known pianists and drummers: Gordon Johnson TRIOS, TRIOS V.2, TRIOS Version 3.0, TRIOS GJ4 and TRIOS No. FIVE. These are out of print, but available on most streaming platforms.

•  EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES: 


Bachelor of Music - 1974 graduate - Eastman School of Music. 

I was a classical flute major, a student of Joesph Mariano.

Member; Eastman Wind Ensemble, principal flute 1973-4 + Musica Nova, flute

Bassist for; Eastman Jazz Ensemble, Studio Orchestra & Arrangers Workshop Orchestra, directed by Rayburn Wright, Manny Albam, Chuck Mangione & Bill Dobbins. 

Featured guest artists; Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Thad Jones, Teo Macero, Chuck Mangione, Marion McPartland, Gerry Mulligan, Oliver Nelson, and Toots Thielemans.

Petrus Trio: Phil Markowitz, piano Ted Moore, drums

•  JINGLES, SCORES & INDUSTRIAL FILMS: 

     National Finals are underlined


Arby's, American Standard, Andersen Windows (segment composer & producer) Ashland Oil, BankOne, BASF, Burger King, Better Homes & Gardens, Busch Beer, Caruther's, Coca-Cola "Animal Crackers", Cub Foods, Dairy Queen "classic cakes"(composer & producer), Dayton's, Discover Card, Ford, First Bank, Friendly's, Gabbert's, General Mills, Good Value Homes, Great Adventure, GTE, Harrah's, Health Partners, Holiday Inn Express, Hormel Chili, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jenny-O, KARE-11, KingKoil, K-Mart, Lee Jeans, Lifebouy, Lifesavers, L L Bean, Mack Trucks, Long John Silver, Marshall Field's, Miller Beer, MN State Lottery, MN Tourism, Monsanto, Nicorette, Norwest Bank (w/ Bob Newhart), NSP, Oatmeal Crisp, PBS, Pentax, Perkins', Pert, Philips 66, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, Porsche, Progresso, Purina, Rainbow Foods, Realistar, Rollerblades, Saladshooter, Sam Goody, Sears Auto Centers, Stonyfield Yogurt, Subway, Tsang's Chinese (Hormel), Vidal Sassoon, Schlitz, Southwest Airlines, Stouffer's, Subway, Target, Tetley Tea, Thomas' English Muffins, Timex Datawatch, Tombstone Pizza, Tony's Pizza, Totino's Pizza, Toyota ("oh what a feeling"), United Airlines, United Health Care, United Parcel, United Way, USBANK, USPS, USWEST, Volvo, Vonage.com "whoo hoo", Waterbed Room, Wrangler Jeans.

•  DISCOGRAPHY: Artist - TITLE - (guest artist, musician or producer / arranger)


Phil Baker - WE CAN MOVE
Jimi Behringer - THINK 2 MUCH, LIVIN' ON MARS, DYING TO LIVE, EXPRESSED, SPEED OF LIFE, WORLD @ LARGE, REARVIEW MIRROR
Greg Brown - DREAM CAFE, BATHTUB BLUES, THE POET GAME, FURTHER IN, SLANT 6 MIND (Grammy Nomination), WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? THE SONGS OF PETE SEEGER, IF I HAD KNOWN: ESSENTIAL RECORDINGS 1980-1996
Roy Buchanan - MY BABE
Gary Brunotte - YESTERDAY'S DREAM
CBS All-Stars - MONTREUX SUMMIT Vol 1 & 2
Bill Carrothers - SHINE BALL (w/Dave King) (producer)
Mark Colby - ONE GOOD TURN (w/Steve Gadd, Bob James & Steve Khan)
Cookie Coleman - ONE NIGHT IN PARADISE, COOKIE COLEMAN LIVE 
Pat Donohue - LIFE STORIES, BACK ROADS (w/ Chet Atkins)
Debbie Duncan - IT MUST BE CHRISTMAS, I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU
Richard Dworsky - THE HEART OF SPRING
Cliff Eberhardt - THE HIGH ABOVE AND THE DOWN BELOW
Vicky Emerson - REACH
Thea Ennen & the Algorhythms - ALL ABOARD
Connie Evingson - SOME CATS KNOW, LITTLE DID I DREAM (w/ Dave Frishberg)
Maynard Ferguson - CARNIVAL, CONQUISTADOR , NEW VINTAGE (w/guest George Benson), This Is Jazz, Vol.16, Essential Maynard Ferguson
Eugene Friesen - ARMS AROUND YOU
John Gorka - THE COMPANY YOU KEEP
Dave Graf - JUST LIKE THAT
Joan Griffith & Lucia Newell - ENTER YOU, ENTER LOVE
Phil Griffith - BORN TO BE SURPRISED
George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band - LIVE AT THE LATIN QUARTER, BERLIN
Arlo Guthrie - OUTLASTING THE BLUES (played in string section)
Jimmy Hamilton - JAZZ IN JULY 1 & 2, COOKIN' AT THE DAKOTA
Marty Haugen - ALL ARE WELCOME, AGAPÉ, WE COME DANCING, THE SONG AND THE SILENCE, INSTRUMENTS OF PEACE, VOL.2, HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING, ANTHOLOGY, VOL.1;1980-1984, BENEATH THE TREE OF LIFE, FEAST OF LIFE, THAT YOU MAY HAVE LIFE, IN THE DAYS TO COME: SONGS OF PEACE, ONLY YOU, O GOD
Glen Helgeson - SPIRIT OF THE WOOD, DISTANT BORDERS REVISITED
Jane Henderson - IT MIGHT BE SPRING
Bruce Henry - CONNECTIONS
Tom Hunter - BIG THUNDER
Bill Isles - CALLING, SHORES OF MY HOME TOWN, MATCHING BAGGAGE (w/ Kate Isles), EARLY RISERS
Diane Jarvi - FOREIGN WINDS (producer), REVONTULI, FLYING INTO BLUE (co-producer)
JAZZMN BIG BAND w/ Buddy DeFranco, Dave Weckl & Irv Williams


Gordon Johnson - TRIOS (producer)

PIANISTS
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck

PIANISTS
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck

PIANISTS
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck
PIANISTS
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck
PIANISTS
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck
PIANISTS
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck
Pianists: John R. Burr, Bill Carrothers, Manfredo Fest, Biff Hannon, Chris Lomheim, Bobby Peterson, Benny  Weinbeck
Drummers: Dave Anania, Jay Epstein, Peter Erskine, Gordy Knudtson, Dave Mancini, Joe Pulice
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck
PIANISTS
John R. Burr
Bill Carrothers
Manfredo Fest
Biff Hannon
Chris Lomheim
Bobby Peterson
Benny Weinbeck
Gordon Johnson - TRIOS V.2 (producer)
Pianists: Phil Aaron, Jimmy Hamilton, Donnie LaMarca, Phil Markowitz, Kenny Werner
 Drummers: Joe Bonadio, Jay Epstein, Phil Hey, Gordy Knudtson
Gordon Johnson - TRIOS Version 3.0 (producer)
Pianists: Giacomo Aula, Matthew Fries, Jon Weber, Benny Weinbeck
 Drummers: Steve Gadd, Jay Epstein, Phil Hey, Joe Pulice

Gordon Johnson - TRIOS GJ4 (producer)

Pianists: Bill Carrothers, Laura Caviani, Frank Kimbrough, Bryan Nichols, Tanner Taylor

Drummers: Phil Hey, Dave King, Steve Smith, Todd Strait, Matt Wilson

Gordon Johnson - TRIOS No. FIVE (producer)

Pianists: Dave Frishberg, Art Hirahara, Lars Jansson, Frank Kimbrough

Drummers: Phil Hey, Matt Wilson


Michael Johnson - THERE IS A BREEZE, MOONLIT DEJA VU
Mary Louise Knutson - CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THERE, IN THE BUBBLE
Lorie Line - WALKING WITH YOU, HEART & SOUL, SHARING THE SEASON, VOL.3, MUSIC FROM THE HEART: GREATEST COVER HITS, HERITAGE II, OPEN HOUSE, LORIE LINE HOLIDAY COLLECTION, LORIE LINE FAVORITES, MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR, YOUNG AT HEART, MY FAVORITE THINGS, HERITAGE COLLECTION VOL.4, NOW AND THEN, SERENDIPITY
Chris Lomheim - AND YOU'VE BEEN WAITING? THE BRIDGE, TIMELINE
Lyros - FLY HEART, FLY
Chuck Mangione - LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE (flute/piccolo), LOVE NOTES, JOURNEY TO A RAINBOW, EYES OF THE VEILED TEMPTRESS, LIVE AT THE VILLAGE GATE, GREATEST HITS, CHUCK MANGIONE'S FINEST HOUR, BEST OF CHUCK MANGIONE
Dave Matthews Orchestra featuring Earl Klugh - DELTA LADY
Doug Maynard - LOST IN THE BLUES
Mark Morse - MORSE CODE
Neal & Leandra - OLD LOVE, HEARTS & HAMMERS, ACCIDENTAL DREAMS, STRANGER TO MY KIN, ANGELS & FOOLS, DREAMER'S HOLIDAY: A TRIBUTE TO PERRY COMO
Lucia Newell - STEEPED IN STRAYHORN
The O'Neill Brothers - THROUGH THE YEARS, ON BROADWAY WITH THE O'NEILL BROTHERS, SOMEONE YOU LOVE (w/ Debbie Gibson)
Susan Osborn - SIGNATURE, SUSAN (w/ Steve Gadd, Eugene Friesen & Paul Halley), HUMMINGBIRD
Peter Ostroushko - HEART OF THE HEARTLAND, PILGRIMS ON THE HEART ROAD, LIFESCAPES / BLUEGRASS
John Paulson - BLUES FOR ERIN, UP LATE
Patty & Jeanne Peterson - WISH

PETRUS - Phil Markowitz piano, Ted Moore drums
Pilhofer Jazz Quartet - FULL CIRCLE
Bo Ramsey - IN THE WEEDS
Ann Reed - ROAD OF THE HEART, HOLE IN THE DAY, VALENTINE COLLECTION, TELLING STORIES
Alicia Renee - WAIT FOR ME
Francine Roche - DEJA VU, JOYEUX NOEL
Tresa Sauer - GROOVIN' UP SLOWLY
Becky Schlegel - RED LEAF, DRIFTER LIKE ME, FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE, HEARTACHES, COUNTRY BALLADS
Claudia Schmitt - ESSENTIAL TENSION, WHILE WE LIVE
John Serry - EXHIBITION, JAZZIZ (w/ Barry Finnerty, Gordon Gottlieb, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Sembello, Bob Shepard, Peter Erskine & Carlos Vega)
Davitt Sigerson - DAVITT SIGERSON (a.k.a. FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN)
Dennis Spears - I HEAR IT
Sesame Street / Joe Raposo / Jim Henson - SESAME DISCO!
Dave Sletten - BLACK MOON, RED DRAGON
Don Stille - AURORA'S DANCE
The Music Workshop For Kids with Michael Johnson - SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES,
Steve Vecchi - A RETURN TO MELODY
Voice Trek - IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
Lori True - LET THIS BE THE TIME
Benny Weinbeck - MAKE A WISH, REFLECTION (co-producer) SWEET LOVE (co-producer), EARTH MURMURS
Pete Whitman Quintet - THE SOUND OF WATER
Pete Whitman's X-tet - WHERE'S WHEN?
The Paul Winter Consort - CALLINGS, MISSA GAIA, WOLF EYES, LIVING MUSIC COLLECTION '81 & '86
Shirley Witherspoon - MAGIC & LOVE (w/Gene Adams, Jay Epstein, Jimmy Heath, Ronny Loew, Toots Thielmans & Kenny Werner,)
Adi Yeshaya Big Band - A NICE ONE FOR BOO


•  RECORDING ENGINEERS I have worked with:


Lee Blaske, Glenn Berger, Bob Clearmountain, Michael DeLugg, Rob Genadek, David Greene, Mick Guzauski, Sam Hudson, Joe Jorgensen, Tom Jung, Glen Kolotkin, Tom Mudge, Tony Romano, John Scherf, Larry Swist, Joe Tarsia, Tom Tucker, Tommy Tucker, Jr., Sam Whiteside, Steve Wiese, Matthew Zimmerman


•   WORLD TOURING:


Giacomo Aula Trio - 06/02 Minneapolis/St.Paul - 07/06 Italy - 06/24 Santa Fe

Gene Bertoncini - 1975 Canada & all Northwest Territories, Arctic Circle

Roy Buchanan - 1980-81 - USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand

CBS All-Stars Montreux Summit, directed by Bob James - 1977 - Switzerland

Maynard Ferguson Orchestra - 1975-78 - USA, Canada, Europe, Japan

George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band - 1980-81 - Europe

Stacey Kent - USA & Canada - October, 2004 - 2008

Lorie Line & her Pop Chamber Orchestra - USA 98, 99

The Phil Markowitz Trio - Abstract Expression - Musical Portraits of American Masters - USA 2001

Chuck Mangione - 1982-89 - USA, Canada, Brazil, the Caribean, Europe, Japan, Philipines, Hong Kong

Ricky Peterson - Tokyo - 92

Dewey Redman - Jazz Showcase Chicago, Sam Francisco Jazz Festival, Minneapolis / St. Paul 2003-2006

The Paul Winter Consort - 1978-81 USA


•  OTHER PERFORMANCES, everywhere:


Gene Adams, Mary Jane Alm, Bruce Allard, Ernestine Anderson, Giacomo Aula, Jimi Behringer, Gene Bertoncini, JoAnne Brackeen, Randy Brecker, Nick Brignola, Charles Brown, Greg Brown, Cliff Brunzell & the Golden Strings, Bill Carrothers, Laura Caviani, Rosemary Clooney, Cookie Coleman, Lui Collins, David Darling, Denver Symphony Orchestra (pops), Skip DeVol, Bob Dorough, Debbie Duncan, Cornell Dupree, Madeline Eastman, Bernie Edstrom Big Band, Mike Elliott, Herb Ellis, Peter Erskine w/Alan Pasqua, Connie Evingson, George Faber, Andy Farber, Manfredo Fest, Arne Fogel, Robert Fox, Eugene Friesen, Curtis Fuller, Benny Golson, Jimmy Hamilton, Scott Hamilton, Bruce Henry, Phil Hey, Diane Jarvi, JazzMN Big Band, Jeff Jensen, Michael Johnson, Dave Karr, Stacey Kent, Mary Louise Knutson, Will Lauf, Peggy Lee w/Grady Tate, Peter Levin, Norman Leyden, Lorie Line, Doug Little, Chris Lomheim Trio, Dean Magraw, Phil Markowitz, Al Martino, Dr. Mambo's Combo, Charles McPherson, Jay McShann, Delfeayo & Ellis Marsalis, the Dave Matthews Big-Band, Sam Miletich, Bob Mintzer Quintet, Minnesota Orchestra (pops), Clay Moore, Maria Muldaur, Mark Murphy, Alex Murzyn, Lucia Newell, Tommy O'Donnell, Johnny O'Neal, Connie Olson, Susan Osborn, Passage, Freda Payne, Jeanne Peterson, Patty Peterson, Ricky Peterson, Petrus Trio w/ Phil Markowitz & Ted Moore with guests Jim Saporito & Ray Ricker, Philadelphia Orchestra (pops w/Doc Severinsen and Marvin Hamlisch), Dave Pietro with David Berkman, Pilhofer Jazz Quartet, Don Powell's "Cole Porter-No Regrets", The Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular starring the Rockettes & Susan Anton, Dewey Redman, Rex Richardson, Ruben Ristrom, Jim Rotondi, Bobby Rydel, Dave Samuels, Bill Scheil, Becky Schlegel, Claudia Schmitt, Diane Schuur, Doc Severinsen, The Sevilles, Marlena Shaw, Bobby Shew, Ben Sidran, Lew Soloff, Mick Sterling & the Stud Brothers, Ira Sullivan, Toots Thielemans & Howard Levy - Harmonica Summit, Steve March-Tormé, Sue Tucker, Roland Vasquez, Jon Vezner, Roseanna Vitro, Voicetrek, the Dale Warland Singers, Jon Weber, Benny Weinbeck, Jerry Weldon, Pete Whitman's Departure Point, Quintet and X-Tet, Horace Williams, Irv Williams, James Williams, Joe Williams, Roger Williams, Shirley Witherspoon, The Steve Wright Big Band, Steve Yeager, The Adi Yeshaya Big Band



•   NETWORK TELEVISION APPEARANCES:


Mike Douglas Show, Dinah Shore Show, Robert Klein Special w/Rodney Dangerfield & Jane Curtin, PBS Big-Band Bash, Merv Griffin Show, Solid Gold, Salute w/Dick Clark, Glen Campbell Special, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Soul Train, Jerry Lewis MD Telethon, The Late Show (fox), Sass & Brass - Showtime.


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