Phillip Johnston (born January 22, 1955) is an American avant-garde saxophonist. He came to prominence in the 1980s as co-founder of

The Microscopic Septet The Microscopic Septet is a jazz septet, founded in 1980 by saxophonist Phillip Johnston. They played frequently in New York City, toured, and recorded until they disbanded in 1992. Known affectionately as "The Micros" Heather Phares of Allmusic de ...

and went on to write extensively for films, particularly new scores for classic

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

from the early 20th Century.

Biography

Phillip Johnston was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on January 22, 1955, and raised in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

area. During the 1970s he met and formed relationships with some of his earliest musical associates (

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

, Joel Forrester,

David Hofstra David Carl "Dave" Hofstra (born May 21, 1953, Leavenworth, Kansas) is an American jazz double-bassist. He also plays bass guitar and tuba. Hofstra was an autodidact on bass. He worked with Robin Holcomb, John Zorn, Joel Forrester, and in the lat ...

, Eugene Chadbourne), and moved often between

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

. In 1980 he settled in New York, and soon formed his first ongoing music groups, The Public Servants (with vocalist

Shelley Hirsch Shelley Hirsch (born June 9, 1952 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York) is an American vocalist, performance artist, composer, improviser, and writer. She won a DAAD Residency Grant in Berlin 1992, a Prix Futura award in 1993, and multiple awards ...

) and

(with pianist Joel Forrester). Throughout the 80s and 90s and early 2000s, he worked as a leader (

, Big Trouble, Transparent Quartet) co-leader and sideman (

Mikel Rouse Mikel Rouse (born Michael Rouse; January 26, 1957 in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States) is an American composer. He has been associated with a Downtown New York City movement known as totalism, and is best known for his operas, including '' ...

Kitty Brazelton Kitty Brazelton (born 1951 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a New York-based American composer, bandleader, improviser, singer/songwriter, and instrumentalist. She has released albums and fronted bands across varied genres, including contemporary ...

, Bobby Radcliff), and began a parallel career in composition for film, theatre, dance and the concert hall. He has a particular interest in contemporary scores for

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

. In 2005, he moved with his wife, Australian playwright Hilary Bell, and their two children to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. As of 2015 he lives and performs in Sydney, but travels regularly to New York and Europe to perform, collaborate and record. He also teaches film music history at the

Australian Institute of Music The Australian Institute of Music (AIM) is an Australian private tertiary education provider, with campuses in Sydney, New South Wales and Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1968, AIM delivers education for careers in the Australian music, entert ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Music for Films'' (Tzadik, 1998) * ''Rub Me the Wrong Way'' (Innova, 2004) * ''Diggin' Bones'' (Asynchronous, 2018) * ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' (Asynchronous, 2018) Big Trouble * ''Big Trouble'' (Black Saint, 1993) * ''Flood at the Ant Farm'' (Black Saint, 1996) * ''The Unknown'' (Avant, 1999) The Transparent Quartet * ''The Needless Kiss'' (Koch Jazz, 1998) * ''The Merry Frolics of Satan'' (Koch Jazz, 1999) * ''Page of Madness'' (Asynchronous, 2009)

As co-leader

The Microscopic Septet * ''Take the Z Train'' (Press, 1983) * ''Let's Flip!'' (Osmosis, 1984) * ''Off Beat Glory'' (Osmosis, 1986) * ''Beauty Based on Science'' (Stash, 1993) * ''Seven Men in Neckties: The History of the Micros, Vol. 1'' (Cuneiform, 2006) * ''Surrealistic Swing: The History of the Micros, Vol. 2'' (Cuneiform, 2006) * ''Lobster Leaps In'' (Cuneiform, 2008) * ''Friday the 13th: The Micros Play Monk'' (Cuneiform, 2010) * ''Manhattan Moonrise'' (Cuneiform, 2014) * ''Been Up So Long It Looks Like Down To Me: The Micros Play The Blues'' (Cuneiform, 2017) Fast 'N' Bulbous * ''Pork Chop Blue Around the Rind'' (Cuneiform, 2005) * ''Waxed Oop'' (Cuneiform, 2009) The Spokes * ''Not So Fast'' (Strudelmedia, 2011) SNAP * ''Boggy Creek Bop'' (Rufus, 2010) Joel Forrester/Phillip Johnston * ''Live at the Hillside'' (Asynchronous, 2011)

Guy Klucevsek Guy Klucevsek (born February 26, 1947) is an American-born accordionist and composer. Klucevsek is one of relatively few accordion players active in new music, jazz and free improvisation. Klucevsek was born in New York City, and raised outside ...

/Phillip Johnston * ''

Tales from the Cryptic ''Tales from the Cryptic'' is an album by accordionist Guy Klucevsek with saxophonist Phillip Johnston which was recorded in 2002 and released on the Winter & Winter label. Reception In his review for Allmusic, Thom Jurek said that "This is a br ...

'' (Winter & Winter, 2003)

Filmography

* 1984 ''Committed'' dir. by Lynne Tillman and Sheila McLaughlin. * 1986 ' (songs only) dir. by

Doris Dörrie Doris Dörrie (; born 26 May 1955) is a German film director, producer and author. Biography Born in Hanover, Dörrie completed her secondary education there in 1973. The same year, she began a two-year attendance in film studies in the drama de ...

* 1987 ''When, If Not Now'' (songs only) dir. by Michael Jüncker * 1988 ''How To Be Louise'' dir. by Ann Flournoy * 1988 ''What Then'' dir. by John Inwood * 1989 ' dir. by Doris Dörrie * 1992 ''Money Man'' dir. by Philip Haas * 1992 ''The Clean Up'' dir. by Jane Weinstock * 1993 ''The Music of Chance'' dir. by Philip Haas * 1994 ''Umbrellas'' dir. by Henry Corra/Graham Weinbren/Albert Maysles * 1996 '' Faithful'' dir. by

Paul Mazursky Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards: three t ...

* 2000 ''Sana Que Sana'' dir. by Ron Daniels * 2001 ''Mackenheim'' dir. by Adam Barr * 2004 ''Frames'' dir. Henry Corra & Charlene Rule (conductor/supervisor only) * 2007 ''Stolen Life'' dir. Jackie Turnure/Peter Rasmussen * 2008 ''Noise'' dir. Henry Bean * 2010 ''Mr. Sin: The Abe Saffron Story'' dir. Hugh Piper

Silent filmography

* 1993 ''The Unknown'' (1927, dir. Tod Browning) * 1997 ''The Georges Méliès Project'' (1899-1909) * 1998 ''Page of Madness'' (1926, dir. Teinosuke Kinugasa) * 2003 ''Faust'' (1926, dir. F.W. Murnau) * 2013 ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' (1926, Lotte Reineger)

References

* Jason Ankeny,

Phillip Johnston Phillip Johnston (born January 22, 1955) is an American avant-garde saxophonist. He came to prominence in the 1980s as co-founder of The Microscopic Septet and went on to write extensively for films, particularly new scores for classic silent fi ...

at Allmusic * Gary W. Kennedy
Phillip Johnston
at

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

* Mark Corroto
Phillip Johnston: Page of Madness (2009)
at All About Jazz * Doug Spencer
Joel Forrester/Phillip Johnston: Live At The Hillside Club
at ABC Radio National * Lee Prosser
The Merry Frolics Of Satan by Phillip Johnston & The Transparent Quartet
at Jazz Review * Thomas R. Erdmann
Page Of Madness by Phillip Johnston
at Jazz Review {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Phillip American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Musicians from Chicago 1955 births Living people Tzadik Records artists 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Illinois 21st-century American male musicians The Microscopic Septet members