Wayne Johnson | |
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Born | December 31, 1949 |
Genres | Soul jazz, jazz fusion |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Guitar |
Years active | 1970s – present |
Labels | Solid Air |
Associated acts | The Manhattan Transfer |
Website | waynejohnsononline |
Wayne Johnson is an American jazz and acoustic guitarist. Johnson won a Grammy Award in 2004 for his contribution to the album Pink Guitar, which featured the songs of composer Henry Mancini.
Johnson grew up in Spokane, Washington where he studied guitar under Jack C. Campbell, a pioneer in the chord-melody guitar technique. He attended Boston's Berklee College of Music in the late 1970s and soon after joined the vocal group Manhattan Transfer for more than 20 years. To date, he has recorded eight solo albums, most often in a trio with bassist Jimmy Johnson and drummer Bill Berg, who were founding members of the group Flim & the BB's. He has been the guitarist for Bette Midler's Las Vegas show at Caesar's Palace.
Johnson has performed worldwide with numerous other artists, including Rickie Lee Jones, Elton John, John Tesh, Akiko Yano and Lee Oskar. He is a music educator and instructor and serves as a clinician for Taylor Guitars.