Aubrey Johnson

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40 age

June 23, 1985 Birthday

Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. Birthplace

www.aubreyjohnsonmusic.com Website

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About

Aubrey Johnson is a contemporary jazz vocalist, composer, arranger, and educator based in New York City. Known for her distinctive silvery soprano and remarkable versatility across jazz, Brazilian music, and pop, she leads a six-piece ensemble and has released three albums as a leader: Unraveled (2020), Play Favorites (2022, a duo with pianist Randy Ingram), and The Lively Air (2026). Her sideperson credits span more than fifty albums, including Bobby McFerrin's Grammy-nominated VOCAbuLaries and Arturo O'Farrill's Grammy Award-winning Four Questions. She co-executive produced Eberhard, the final recording by her uncle, legendary keyboardist Lyle Mays. A dedicated educator, Johnson holds faculty positions at Berklee College of Music, Queens College, Montclair State University, and The New School, where she emphasizes individual artistic voice and technical mastery.

Trivia

Johnson sings in English, Portuguese, and Japanese. She decided at age six that she wanted to be a singer. On the Eberhard recording sessions, Lyle Mays had the vocalists whisper, breathe into microphones, perform light vocal percussion, and record various jungle animal noises, many of which made the final mix. She served as vocalist and conductor for the United States premiere of Carla Bley's 1971 jazz opera Escalator Over the Hill. Her brother Gentry Johnson wrote the poem she set to music for the composition "I'll Never Need to Know."

Early Life

Aubrey Johnson was born on June 23, 1985, and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in a deeply musical family. Her father was a passionate jazz enthusiast who introduced her to the genre's foundational recordings, while her mother, an accomplished pianist and singer, directed music at the family's church for many years. Her uncle was Lyle Mays, the celebrated keyboardist and longtime creative partner of Pat Metheny. Johnson began piano lessons at age seven and studied jazz from an early age. She attended Western Michigan University, where she joined the internationally renowned vocal jazz ensemble Gold Company and won two DownBeat Collegiate Student Music Awards. She earned her Master's degree in jazz performance from the New England Conservatory, graduating with honors and receiving the Gunther Schuller Medal, the institution's highest student honor.