Alumni Profile | Christopher Johnson

IN TUNE WITH HIMSELF

ALUMNUS CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON FOUND HIS LOVE OF MUSIC IN LOS ANGELES AND HIMSELF AS AN ARTIST AT UAPB; AND IT'S LED TO OPPORTUNITIES OF A LIFETIME

by Tisha D. Arnold

"If I hadn't gone to UAPB, my life would be totally different.....I don't know where I would be."

The stage was black and the crowd was going wild. When 2009 alumnus Chris Johnson took out one of his earpieces, the roar of 125,000 concert-goers at Coachella 2018 was deafening. Those in attendance at the popular festival were there to witness a performance by Beyoncé, one of the most well-known artists in the world. It was a historic moment for African Americans because she was the first black female artist to headline the event. With more than 475,000 people connected via live stream, the two nights Beyoncé took the stage would prove to be the most watched performance for the event. According to Netflix, 1.1 million viewers watched Homecoming, the documentary that recounted the process it took to plan and execute an homage to African American culture and HBCU excellence. After playing Coachella, Johnson continued working with the artist as part of the Hornets horn section for the worldwide On The Run tour. He was also a co-arranger of the horn section for the album, Everything is Love, that won Best Contemporary Album at the Grammy Awards in 2019. How does one begin as a cellist and quickly find himself performing with noatbley the best in the music industry? The path it took to get there was one that started in an unexpected way.

His interest in music began as a young boy playing around on the piano at his grandmother's house in his hometown, Los Angeles, California. Johnson said his mother noticed him playing by ear and figuring out melodies to children’s songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb. A pianist in her own right, his mother was told that Johnson had an ear for music. She enrolled him in the school choir where she taught second grade and eventually the school orchestra. It was in elementary school that he laid his hands on the cello – an instrument he would practice on incessantly and strive to make first chair each time he performed.

“We had auditions for first chair every week, and I had to get it,” Johnson said. “If I didn’t get it, I would go home crying. I’ll never forget that.”

Seeing his love for the cello, Johnson’s mother took him to see the Los Angeles Philarmonic Orchestra. They sat on the first row right in front of the cello section. Watching them perform, he was inspired by how passionate they were about their craft. After the performance was over, his mother took him backstage to meet the first chair of the cello section. Although he’d only been playing for a short time, the cellist encouraged him to stay with it. It was this experience at nine years old that made Johnson realize what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

“Meeting her [the cellist] and seeing the whole orchestra play and how dope that was to me – I knew that I wanted to play music for a living.”

THE TURNING POINT

By the time he was in middle school, Johnson had been playing the cello for a few years. Much to his chagrin, his school only had beginning strings courses. His band director noticed this about him and decided to assign trombone parts for the cello. He recalls sitting next to the trombone players during rehearsal and hearing his band director practicing on the trombone thereafter.

“The trombone was such a cool instrument to me,” Johnson said. “It just spoke to me. I told myself that I want to play the trombone.”

Initially saying no when asked, the band director was reluctant because of Johnson's promising talent on the cello. His director knew that he would no longer play the cello once he picked up the trombone. He was right.

Given only the mouthpiece to practice on, Johnson was anxious to try playing the entire instrument, and snuck into his band director’s office to put a trombone together. Catching him in this act, the director let him take a shot at producing a note.

“My first sound on the trombone was horrible,” he said. “But that was my first time playing the trombone. I haven’t put it down since.”

His mother and band director supported the passion he had for the trombone and enrolled him in private lessons from sixth grade through high school.

MARCHING TO THE BEAT OF M4

While in high school, Johnson’s principal and UAPB alumnus Herbert Boykin was a member of the local alumni chapter who orchestrated a phone call between Johnson and recruiter LTC Solomon Jamerson to talk about his plans for college. Jamerson showed him a video of M4 (Marching Musical Machine of the MidSouth) on a VHS cassette. Although Johnson wanted to go to an HBCU, he hadn’t planned on going to a four-year institution. Jamerson told Johnson that if he made an audition tape, he could possibly get a scholarship to attend UAPB. After submitting his tape, he received the call a few weeks later that his path had been made clear.

Moving to Arkansas was a huge culture shock for Johnson, however, he also met and made friends with others at UAPB that spanned the country. Spending his next six years in the Natural State, he remembers having Thanksgiving dinner at a different house each year. The friendships he made as a member of M4 impacted another big day in his life. The best man and groomsmen at Johnson's wedding to his wife, Lauren, were either classmates or members of the band.

“[In] any kind of marching band, especially at an HBCU, you’re going to make friends forever,” Johnson said. “It’s an amazing thing, it’s a community.”

He also developed a close relationship with Director of Bands John Graham and had long talks with Jazz Ensemble Director and Trombone Instructor Darryl Evans. The first student under Evans' tutelage, he learned lessons that went beyond sheet music. Even when he took private instruction, Evans taught him a lesson he would never forget.

“I didn’t tell [Mr. Evans] I was taking these private lessons and he found out,” Johnson said. “On my next lesson with him, he was so hard on me. I couldn’t do any of the things he was asking me to do. He told me that it didn’t matter if I could take lessons from the trumpet masters of the world. If I wasn’t practicing, I wasn’t going to improve.”

He applies that lesson to his life to this day. Anytime things feel difficult, Johnson said he thinks about what Evans said and gets back to work perfecting his craft. Johnson says it was instructors like Evans, Graham, and Fooster that helped shape him into the musician he is today.

The next chapter of his life unfolded when he met the late Clark Terry and got a chance to study and spend time with him, sparking a passion for jazz music. As a result of his involvement with the Clark Terry Jazz Festival, Johnson met legendary jazz artist Ron Carter. This chance meeting resulted in a full scholarship to attend Northern Illinois University (NIU), where he earned a Master of Music Degree in Jazz Studies.

"If I hadn't gone to UAPB, my life would be totally different," Johnson said. "I don't know where I would be."

A DATE WITH DESTINY

Johnson returned to Los Angeles after graduating from NIU and became a highly sought after professional musician. During this time, Johnson had just begun to play with a brass trio called The Smoking Horns. There was a call to do a recording session with Derek Dixie. Johnson didn't know this was Beyoncé's music director, but he knew the importance of staying on the music scene and jumped at the opportunity. While playing with some of the tracks, he heard a familiar voice.

At the end of the session, he learned that it was Beyoncé he heard singing. Dixie connected with him after the session and quickly recruited Johnson a few weeks later. Initially, he didn't realize what the gig emtailed. It started to make sense once they were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements. It was November 2017 when he and other musicians found out they were going to play Coachella.

"One day I'm going to be able to show my kids that I was a part of this. Just knowing that I am [a product of] HBCU culture, there's no feeling like it in the world."

Johnson is photographed in his costume prior to performance time at Coachella in 2018.

Photo provided courtesy of Christopher Johnson

After the festival, he performed every month until December 2018 as a part of The Hornets horn section for the On the Run Tour.

Johnson admits that it was weeks after both experiences before he had time to take in what he had just experienced. Among the continents and venues played during the tour, his favorite city was Rome, Italy. Stade de France in Paris was a memorable venue.

"It was Bastille Day in Paris and France's team won the world cup," Johnson recalled. "That crowd was the most lit ever."

It was during the tour that tracks were recorded for the Everything is Love album. During a release party after their performance in London, Johnson heard the horn arrangements for songs Boss and Summer. Everything is Love won Best Contemporary Album at the Grammy Awards in 2019.

As Beyoncé performs in Santa Clara, California, Johnson (pointing with trombone under his arm) and members of The Hornets strike a pose

Andrew White

WHAT'S NEXT

In addition to Beyoncé and Jay Z, Johnson has recorded and toured with other iconic artists in the music industry. Some of the artists include Stevie Wonder, Raphael Saadiq, TLC, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Jamie Foxx, Mary Mary, Ledisi, Cardi B, Aloe Blacc, The Brandon Brown Collective, Jennifer Hudson, Solange Knowles, and Macy Gray.

Keeping the lesson he learned from Evans to keep practicing, Johnson continues to work on his craft.

The leader of his own group, The Chris Johnson Experience, he is working on a solo album and continues to book gigs. Currently playing tuba for Kanye West’s Sunday Service, he also looks to open a recording studio as well mentor other youth that wish to become professional musicians.

"My ultimate goal is longevity," he said. "I want to continue to tour and work with major artists...I never want to put my instrument down."