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Saxophonist Josh Johnson Releases Animative, His First Album for International Anthem and Nonesuch
Saxophonist, synthesist and producer Josh Johnson has released Animative, his third album under his own name and his first for International Anthem and Nonesuch Records. It is out now on physical formats and download, with streaming to follow on Nov. 10.
Saxophonist, keyboardist, synthesist and producer Josh Johnson released Animative on Friday, Oct. 23. It is his third album under his own name and his first for International Anthem and Nonesuch Records. According to Nonesuch, the album is available now on physical formats and as a digital download, and it reaches streaming services on Nov. 10.
The ten-track album was co-produced by Johnson and Paul Bryan. Nonesuch lists contributions from singer and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, Macie Stewart, trumpeter Marquis Hill and drummer Ben Lumsdaine, among others. The label describes the music as a blend of "skeletal soul-jazz, post-bop, electronic minimalism, and dreamy ambience."
Johnson, who was raised in the Chicago suburbs and is based in Los Angeles, often uses his saxophone to control a sampler or drum machine, triggering changes in a loop or an effect. "I'm looking to make it feel more human," he says in the label's announcement. He names Chicago saxophonist Eddie Harris and pianist Mal Waldron as influences on his approach to breaking form.
The title has puzzled some of his friends, Johnson says. "I said the name to a few people, and they were like, 'Animated is not how I would describe you,'" he says. "But I'm really thinking about it from the perspective of causing animation, giving spirit, or connecting with spirit." Nonesuch says he often thinks of lessons from Wayne Shorter, one of his teachers at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (now the Herbie Hancock Institute) in Los Angeles, and that he also drew on the writings of the West African author Malidoma Somé and the fiction of Italo Calvino.
Tracks named in the announcement include "Aughts Hymnal," "High Step," "Jazz Chord Possession" and "Upstairs 2021." The label presents Animative as the culmination of a loop-based sound that first appeared on Johnson's 2020 band album Freedom Exercise and his 2024 solo album Unusual Object.
Johnson is a longtime member of guitarist Jeff Parker's ETA IVtet and co-leads groups including SML and the Openness Trio. He produced Ndegeocello's Grammy-winning 2023 album The Omnichord Real Book and Flea's 2026 album Honora, and from 2018 to 2022 he was musical director for Leon Bridges. Nonesuch says he also continues to play in bands led by Marquis Hill, Makaya McCraven and Joel Ross.
Release shows are planned with a trio featuring bassist Anna Butterss and Lumsdaine: Zebulon in Los Angeles on Oct. 27, the Empty Bottle in Chicago on Nov. 1, The Cedar in Minneapolis on Nov. 3 and Public Records in Brooklyn on Dec. 10.