Deron Johnson, an award-winning pianist, keyboardist, composer, and session musician based in Los Angeles, has amassed credits on more than 100 recordings while sharing stages with Stanley Clarke, Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, Paula Abdul, and David Sanborn among many others. Jazz captured his attention early, prompting him to pursue jazz and advanced piano studies at Cal State, Long Beach under Billy Childs when he reached 16. He began performing in clubs either unaccompanied or alongside ad-hoc trios and quartets, then joined Paula Abdul’s live band as keyboardist for his initial national tour in the closing years of the 1980s.
Late in 1990 Miles Davis encountered Johnson and brought him aboard as pianist and keyboardist; the two recorded together on Doo-Bop, after which Johnson completed three European and two American tours before the trumpeter’s death in 1991. He rejoined Clarke, Billy Cobham, Larry Carlton, and Najee for the 1994 live album Live at the Greek. Over the ensuing three decades his sideman work extended to Seal, Karl Denson, Slash, Damien Rice, Carly Simon, Alanis Morissette, George Howard, and numerous additional artists.
His debut solo piano recording, Silent Knight, appeared in 2004, after which he resumed studio and supporting roles. In 2013 he supplied music to August: Osage County, Begin Again, and Escape from Planet Earth, then contributed to Big Eyes the following year. Subsequent scoring assignments have included Woman in Gold (2015), Calendar Girl (2020), and The Prank (2022), along with original themes for television series and narrative podcasts. On Colorfield he issued his second album, Free to Dance, in 2024, leading a group that featured saxophonists Mark Turner and Sam Gendel, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, drummers Mark Giuliana and Jonathan Pinson, and flügelhornist C.J. Camerieri.
