Michael Johnson

"I am a music worker. I play all the reeds plus flute and piccolo. I can read fly shit on paper and solo most excellently; I am a professional New York saxophone player."

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On the job

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The Exacting Art of Saxophone Repair (Published 2018)

In Perry Ritter’s tiny saxophone repair shop in Midtown Manhattan, prominent jazz musicians mix with a menagerie of sculptures Mr. Ritter makes from sax parts.

A while before the global pandemic shut us down, I was interviewed in this NY Times article which had discussed the scene in NYC... 

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View from my gig - onstage at S.O.B.’s in NYC

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At The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, NYC

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On the job

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Did you ever see the movie, “Green Book?” The main character in the film lives in an apartment above the stage at Carnegie Hall. Well, yes - it’s true, there were people living in the apartments that Carnegie initially intended would help fund the upkeep of the hall itself; along with shops paying rent on street level. Today they have been converted into practice rooms

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A nice thing about living in NYC during this era is having become friends wth the great saxophonist and woodwind player Lawrence Feldman as well as his wife, who performs on piccolo and flute as a member of the NY Phil. I like to take advantage and get his expertise whenever and wherever I am able to...

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Flashback to my college big band days opening for Dave Sanborn at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival in Miami. Check out my friend, Mike Rodriguez on trumpet looking over my right shoulder! Downbeat magazine student award winning band

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By way of introduction...

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On the job

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On the job

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This year I worked with a musical hero, Paul Shaffer