Serving the San Francisco Bay Area New Music Community

                    
Darren Johnston
Trumpet
Darren Johnston, originally from Ontario, Canada, moved to San Francisco in 1997, where he has been living ever since. As a performer, Johnston has worked with innovative musicians and composers such as guitarist Fred Frith, clarinetist Don Byron, bassist Marcus Shelby, bassist Herbie Lewis, the ROVA Saxophone Quartet, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, and others.

Inspired by his work as a sideman with Fred Frith, Johnston studied at Mills College in Oakland, CA, where he earned a Master's in composition. At Mills, Johnston studied with Frith, Chris Brown, Alvin Curran, Annie Gosfield, Joelle Leandre, and Maggie Payne. Johnston's time at Mills was instrumental not only in exposing him to the compositional techniques and music of masters from Brahms to Schoenberg, to Pauline Oliveros, but also exposed him to many improvisational techniques outside of those used in the traditional jazz canon, which in many ways have improved his abilities in traditional "straight-ahead" jazz.

Johnston has received commissions to write for dance, most notably for the local San Francisco company Robert Moses's Kin, and has also been commissioned to write for the gaming company Electronic Arts, but mostly he writes for his various projects and those of others in which he participates.

Johnston's own groups currently include the Darren Johnston Trio; the Empty Chamber Ensemble; the Saint-Jude Memorial Dance Band; and the eight-piece United Brassworkers Front - Johnston's longest running project.
Upcoming Events:

Friday, May 9 2025 8:30 PM
The Lab [2948 16th St SF]
Carla Harryman / Jon Raskin: Scales for the Living Under Duress  More...
Saturday, May 10 2025 8:30 PM
The Lab [2948 16th St SF]
Carla Harryman / Jon Raskin: Scales for the Living Under Duress  More...
Sunday, May 11 2025 7:30 PM
SIMM Series @ The Musicians Union Hall [116 9th St @ Mission SF]
Outsound Presents @ SIMM Series **Mother's Day Special**
A night of mythic explorations and ethereal soundscapes
Rent Romus' Otherworld Ensemble & David Michalak's Ghost Dub Sextet
Featuring: Heikki Koskinen - e-trumpet/tenor recorder; Elihu Knowles - drums/percussion; Joshua Marshall - tenor/soprano saxophone, flute; Joseph Noble - alto/bass flutes; Pete Schmitt - double bass; Karen Stackpole - gongs; Ben Davis - cello; Darren Johnston - trumpet; Cindy Sawprano - saw; Kersti Abrams - alto saxophone, flutes

**Mothers get free admission!  More...
Friday, May 23 2025 7:00 PM
Medicine for Nightmares [3036 24th St SF]
Other Dimensions in Sound presents Johnston/Mezzacappa/Ochs/Kjell/Bruckman  More...
Saturday, May 31 2025 7:30 PM
Bird & Beckett Books and Records [653 Chenery St. SF]
Darren Johnston’s Double Scorpio  More...
CDs on which Darren Johnston appears:
ArtistTitleLabelNumber
Adam Lane’s Full Throttle Orchestra NO[W] MUSIC
Artist: Adam Lane’s Full Throttle Orchestra
Title: NO[W] MUSIC
Label: Cadence Jazz Records 1133
Label page on this site: Cadence Jazz Records
Cadence Jazz Records 1133
Adam Lane´s Full Throttle Orchestra New Magical Kingdom
Artist: Adam Lane´s Full Throttle Orchestra
Title: New Magical Kingdom
Label: Clean Feed Records CF052
Label page on this site: Clean Feed Records
Clean Feed Records CF052
United Brassworkers Front In Between Stories
Artist: United Brassworkers Front
Title: In Between Stories
Label: Evander Music Em 040
Label page on this site: Evander Music
Evander Music Em 040