ARNETTA JOHNSON / CARNEY'S OtHER ROOM, 12:45 - 1:55 + 2:45-3:55
The Story
A proud product of Camden, New Jersey, trumpeter Annetta Johnson combines jazz and decidedly modernist sensibilities into her signature sound heard on her latest single, “Come and Get Me From This Party.”
A graduate from the Berklee College of Music (Class of 2016), Johnson has performed with Grammy-winning vocalist Jill Scott, saxophonist Tia Fuller, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, the vocal duo known as The War and Treaty (husband and wife time of Michael and Tanya Trotter). She has also appeared in concert with superstar Beyoncé (at her 2016 Super Bowl appearance, on her 2018 On the Run II Tour and on the Grammy-winning 2018 debut studio album, Everything Is Love, by American musical super-duo The Carters, consisting of spouses Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter).
As a solo artist, Johnson is known for her vibrant shows and abundant skills on the instrument she first picked up at the age of 13. This will be her premiere appearance at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival.
The Sound
Tunes like “Pull Up on ‘Em,” “Who Are You,” “Fuller Mind” and “I’m Just Sayin’” from her 2019 album If You Hear a Trumpet It’s Me show Johnson’s gift for blending pleasant melodic riffs and ambient moods into a compelling brew of smooth grooves and nu sounds. It’s a style that she calls “Disruptive Jazz,” and it’s catching on. And for an edgier ride, there’s the more urgent “Juice & Candy,” and rap-flavored numbers like “Big Games” and “Up High.”
