Chill Out To Sunday Jazz

First Sundays Concerts presents the Jeff Johnson Jazz Quartet at 4 p.m. Today, Sept. 7 at Waterfront Park Community Center.

Johnson is one of the leading jazz bassists in the Seattle area.

Born in Minneapolis, Johnson ("Free" to some of his colleagues) left at age 20, spending time in Philadelphia and New York, and has worked with a veritable Who's Who of great jazz musicians — including Philly Joe Jones, Charlie Rouse, Barney Kessel, Chet Baker, Lew Tabackin, Eddie Daniels, Mark Murphy, Joanne Brackeen, Julian Priester, Jay Clayton, Marlena Shaw, Billy Hart, Annie Ross, George Cables, Bud Shank, Claudio Roditti, Ernestine Anderson and Michael Wolfe.

Since 1997, Johnson has recorded four CDs as a leader for the Pacific Northwest label, Origin Records. 1997′s “Free,” 2000′s “The Art of Falling” (which won the 2000 Earshot Jazz recording of the year in Seattle), 2004′s “Near Earth,”  and his latest release, 2008′s "Tall Stranger.”

Johnson was also the winner of Seattle’s Earshot Jazz “Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year” awards in both 2000 and 2001.

For the upcoming concert on Bainbridge, Johnson will be joined by Mark Taylor on saxophone, Steve Moore on trombone and piano and Eric Eagle on drums.

Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com.

If you aren't going to make it to todays concert, check out the other First Sunday Concerts at www.firstsundaysconcerts.org.