Bruce Johnstone (born September 1, 1943) is a New Zealand-American jazz baritone saxophonist. He also plays alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute.

Career

Born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand, Johnstone was a member of Maynard Ferguson's band from 1972 to 1976, after having played in Denmark with

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

and

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

, and in London with

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

. He regularly featured in ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine's Readers' Poll behind

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

and

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

. In the mid-1970s, he was a founding member of the jazz-funk band New York Mary. In 1977, he joined the

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

Band and toured and recorded with the band until April 1978. He taught at the

State University of New York at Fredonia The State University of New York at Fredonia (SUNY Fredonia) is a public university in Fredonia, New York, United States. It is the westernmost member of the State University of New York. Founded in 1826, it is the sixty-sixth-oldest institute of ...

as the director of jazz studies for 15 years until 2016. During his last year at Fredonia performed in concert with trumpet player

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became his f ...

. He has been a regularly scheduled player with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's jazz concerts for the past 20 years and has appeared on several of the orchestra's Grammy winning recordings. He has also been a featured soloist on Ken Poston's big band tribute concerts in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Johnstone became an American citizen in 2003 and lives in

Ripley, New York Ripley is a town on Lake Erie in the westernmost part of Chautauqua County, New York. The population was 2,310 at the time of the 2020 census. The town was named after Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, a general in the War of 1812. There are no incorpora ...

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* 1976: ''New York Mary'' (Arista/Freedom) * 1976: ''A Piece of the Apple'' (Arista/Freedom)

As sideman

With Maynard Ferguson * 1973: ''M. F. Horn 3'' (Columbia) * 1974: ''Chameleon'' (Columbia) * 1974: ''M. F. Horn 4 & 5: Live at Jimmy's'' With

* 1978: ''Road Father'' (Century) * 1978: ''Chick, Donald, Walter & Woodrow'' (Century) With others * 1975: ''Night Life'' –

Luther Allison Luther Allison (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997) was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas, although some accounts suggest his actual place of birth was Mayflower, Arkansas. Allison was intereste ...

* 1976: '' Creative Orchestra Music 1976'' –

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Ch ...

References

External links

Biography at SUNY Fredonia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Bruce 1943 births Living people Jazz baritone saxophonists Musicians from Wellington 21st-century saxophonists People from Ripley, New York