Introduction
Randy Johnston (born 5 December 1956, Detroit, Michigan) is an American jazz guitarist.
Johnston moved to Richmond, Virginia, at age thirteen and played rock music as a teenager. He studied at the University of Miami late in the 1970s, occasionally involved in jam sessions at a Unitarian Church with Ira Sullivan. In 1981 he moved to New York City and spent the rest of the decade working as a sideman. During these years, he accompanied Etta Jones and Houston Person.
In 1991 he signed with Muse Records; his first two albums were produced by Person and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder. He has recorded steadily as a leader since then and has also played as a sideman on albums with Lionel Hampton, Lou Donaldson, Jack McDuff, Lonnie Smith, and Joey DeFrancesco.
Discography
- Walk On (Muse, 1991)
- Jubilation (Muse, 1992 [1994])
- In-a-Chord (Muse, 1994)
- Somewhere in the Night (HighNote, 1997)
- Riding the Curve (J Curve, 1998)
- Homage (J Curve, 2000)
- Detour Ahead (HighNote, 2001)
- Hit & Run (HighNote, 2002)
- Is it You? (HighNote, 2005)
- People Music (Random Act, 2011)
With Joey DeFrancesco
- The Champ: Dedicated to Jimmy Smith (HighNote, 1998)
With Etta Jones
- Sugar (Muse, 1989)
- Christmas with Etta Jones (Muse, 1990)
With Houston Person
- The Party (Muse, 1989 [rel. 1991])
- Why Not! (Muse, 1991)
- Christmas with Houston Person and Friends (Muse, 1994)
- All Soul (HighNote, 2005)
- Moment to Moment (HighNote, 2010)