Sunday, April 19, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Describing Aubrey Johnson as a state-of-the-art jazz vocalist is perfectly accurate and entirely inadequate. It’s not just that the New York-based singer is also an acclaimed composer and educator. Wielding her silvery soprano with uncommon control and emotional acuity she’s become an essential muse for a constellation of colleagues in jazz, Brazilian and creative contemporary music.
As a bandleader she’s released two albums of her original songs and arrangements for her jazz sextet, 2020’s Unraveled (Outside In Music) and 2026’s The Lively Air (Greenleaf Music), both produced Pat Metheny Group bassist Steve Rodby. Rodby also produced the final project by the late Lyle Mays, Eberhard, which won a Grammy in 2022. Mays, Aubrey’s uncle, composed the 13-minute mini-symphony with a vocal part written for Johnson, and her wordless vocals are featured throughout the piece. She also released an intimate set of standards in 2022 with pianist Randy Ingram, Play Favorites (Sunnyside Records).
A daunting array of other projects have featured Johnson’s voice, including Bobby McFerrin’s Grammy-nominated VOCAbuLaries and Arturo O'Farrill's Grammy-winning Four Questions. In just the past year she’s played an essential role on a bevy of stellar albums, singing on all the tracks of lyricist David Hajdu’s Lives of Saintsi; trumpeter Alex Sipiagin’s Reverberations; and Randy Ingram’s upcoming album with Brazilian jazz legend Toninho Horta. Presently on faculty at The New School and Montclair State University, she previously held positions at Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory, her alma mater.
Tomoko Omura (violin), Alex LoRe (alto sax, bass clarinet, flute), Chris McCarthy (piano), Kelsey Mines (bass), Jay Sawyer (drums)
www.aubreyjohnsonmusic.com Instagram: @aubreykayj Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aubreykayj
