Tom Johnson

Saxophones, Clarinet

Tom Johnson has performed on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra since 1999, with whom he has played concerts with Hank Jones, Monty Alexander, Paquito D’Rivera, Delfeayo Marsalis, Doc Severinsen, Maria Schneider and Dee Dee Bridgewater, among many others. He attended the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in studio music and jazz after studying with Jerry Coker, Bill Scarlett, Donald Brown and Gary Sperl. In addition to his woodwind playing with the KJO, Johnson has participated in numerous pops concerts with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, performing with such artists as Bernadette Peters, Natalie Cole and Johnny Mathis, among others.
Johnson also founded, wrote arrangements for, and played bass clarinet in the Blackstick Four clarinet quartet,
whose members have included fellow KJO members Bill Scarlett, Greg Tardy and Mark Tucker. Since 1994, he has directed the jazz band and taught woodwinds and contemporary piano styles at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville.