Jef Lee Johnson was one of those unrecognized genius guitarists who haunt the history of the instrument. His is not exactly a local hero story: where a brilliant guitarist labors in the neighborhood clubs, unknown to anyone outside his town. Johnson was respected widely enough to have worked with: George Duke, Al Jarreau, Patti Labelle, James Carter, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Mariah Carey, Stanley Clarke, Aretha Franklin, Ronald Shannon Jackson, McCoy Tyner, Esperanza Spalding, Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, and a host of others. It is more a tale of a talent who never broke out as a solo artist, failing to find the wider recognition brought about by your name on the marquee.
