For those unaware, Tom Johnson (BMI) grew up listening to his father perform with the Al Cobine, Jim Edison, and John Von Ohlen/Steve Allee/Chuck Carter Big bands. Tom began studying composition privately while in high school, and by his senior year had three works performed by his high school jazz band and jazz combo. He began studying trumpet in fifth grade with Jim Edison, and then during High School studied with Bill Adam of Indiana University.

A lot has obviously happened between then and now to and for Tom, including having published more than 30 articles and book chapters in psychology and received the Theodore Dreiser Distinguished Research and Creativity Award from ISU in 2005, and yet despite being in a self-inflicted “phased retirement” since January 2023, he is still conducting research on effects of listening to sad music and personality styles of jazz musicians.

Indeed, Tom’s compositions and arrangements have been performed by various professional, high school, college, and community bands and choirs in eight states and his brand new recording, entitled Time Takes Odd Turns (out now) brings together his recordings begun in May 2023 for Jazz Orchestra.

1. Naught One (8:37)
2. Simple Song (8:23)
3. Book One (6:36)
4. One More Time (4:31)
5. Lucky 13 (8:55)
6. En La Casa de Los Perritos (9:50)
7. Well You Better (4:07)
8. Ballad for the A1 Band (5:29)
9. Cats and Mouses (6:04)
10. Bossa Monday Suite (11:27)
11. Simply Stuff and Nonsense (3:56)

The playful Naught One opens this expansively delightful new recording and is backed by the languishing, at first, quietly sprightly latterly Simple Song, the boisterous Book One, and then come both the beautiful piano/sax piece One More Time and the free-flowing Lucky 13.

Along next is the veritably cinematic in scope En La Casa de Los Perritos and the jazzy finger-snapper Well You Better and they are in turn followed seamlessly by the low slung Ballad for the A1 Band, the perky Cats and Mouses, the album rounding out on the impassioned Bossa Monday Suite, closing on the triumphant Simply Stuff and Nonsense.

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