Lucien Johnson

Biography
Articles

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Lucien Johnson lived in Paris throughout his 20s, forming a free jazz trio with Alan Silva and Makoto Sato ("Stinging Nettles", Improvised Beings CD). Returning to New Zealand in 2009, he has led several bands including Shogun Orchestra and performed around the world with acts such as Lord Echo and the Black Seeds.

Lucien Johnson: Ancient Relics

Read "Ancient Relics" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
March 7, 2024

The astral jazz of Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane is among the most mimicked jazz to be heard in 2024. Mimicked as in superficial, cynical, clichéd, travesty. So it is a rare pleasure to come across an album as singular and substantial as New Zealand-based tenor saxophonist Lucien Johnson's Ancient Relics. The album is the follow-up to Wax///Wane (Deluge, 2020), another sextet affair with a similar lineup and the same bassist and drummer. It was a promising disc ...

Album Review

Lucien Johnson: Wax///Wane

Read "Wax///Wane" reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
July 3, 2021

While Lucien Johnson is a dab hand at playing and composing, he is even more skilled at weaving a piece of music. Flow and dynamics are the specialties he displays most here, sketching out a series of groove patterns, and smoothly guiding an eclectic quintet as they ride through the ebbs and swells. Wax///Wane is not just a poetic title, it is a mantra to which he commits in every way during this beguilingly evocative half-hour-plus set. Based ...