ABOUT

PHOTOS

Credit: Gregory Buissereth





BIOGRAPHY
Jonah Parzen-Johnson is a baritone saxophonist living in Brooklyn, NY. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Jonah was surrounded and inspired by the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and South Side music community. Before graduating from high school Jonah had studied under former AACM chairman Mwata Bowden and AACM member Matana Roberts. Under their tutelage he developed a dedicated focus on the essential role of composition in improvised music.
Parzen-Johnson moved to New York in 2006. He is a founding member of the collective trio Reed’s Bass Drum, which released its debut CD Which is Which in 2009, and a long-time member of Zongo Junction, a Brooklyn based afrobeat ensemble. He is featured on their debut CD Thieves (2010). Currently, Jonah can be found performing and workshoping his solo saxophone work, Michiana For Saxophone Alone.


RECENT PRESS

“One of a number of solo saxophonists currently making waves in NYC, baritone player Jonah Parzen-Johnson presents his mesmerizing and exacting compositions in advance of a new album, Michiana.”
- TimeOut NY (January 2012)

“Jonah Parzen-Johnson has emerged as a unique voice in acoustic improvised music.”
- New York City Jazz Record (August 2011)

“Parzen-Johnson is a formidable voice on bari, and the band play the kind of post-bop — knotty tunes, strong grooves, lots of freedom — that has kept the avant-garde alive while shifting the mainstream to the left.”
- Boston Phoenix (January 2011)

“Reed’s Bass Drum applies a constructivist process, they sample judiciously, tasting their way from track to track, taking small bites, chewing well, savoring and digesting with discrimination.”
- All About Jazz NY (May 2010)

“Reed’s Bass Drum have their walkin’ shoes on and are moving in the right direction.”
- Jazz Times Magazine (April 2010)

“Baritonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson has a tone and phrasing somewhere between Giuffre, Chaloff, and Pepper Adams, with even a little Mulligan, only with a modern twist.”
- Cadence Magazine (July 2010)

“Playing with a collected focus belying his age, displaying a chamber-like propensity for counterpoint, thoughtful arrangements, and consideration for the possibilities of the given instrumentation.”
- Jazz Inside Magazine (March 2010)

“The Brooklyn band, fronted by baritone player Jonah Parzen-Johnson, begins to carve out an original concept on its new disc, Which Is Which.”
- TimeOut NY (January 2010)

“Reed’s Bass Drum remains true to a masterful form of jazz.”
- MuzikReviews.com (June 2009)

“Baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson played with irresistible verve  and promise.”
- Chicago Tribune (January 2006)