Russ Johnson walks the line. “There’s a saying: ‘Too in for the out crowd, too out for the in crowd,’” says the Wisconsin-based trumpeter. “In some respects, this describes my career.”

Russ Johnson Quartet Sun 9/1, 1:50-2:45 PM, Von Freeman Pavilion

In the mid-1980s, having just left Berklee College of Music, the young Johnson dug into traditional jazz, working hard to master its rudiments and conventions. He did everything right: he moved to New York, developed a network, gigged incessantly, and established himself as a go-to session player and sideman. He even finished his studies, earning a bachelor’s degree at Manhattan School of Music in 1997 and following it with a master’s a few years later. One listen to his playing—the crisp, ringing tone, the darting melodies, the thoughtful and complex understanding of rhythm, the harmonic sophistication of his improvising—and you’ll hear what he gleaned. You might start with any of the records he’s appeared on with heavies such as Lee Konitz and Steve Swallow, but his discography is large, varied, and consistently solid.

Chicago has embraced Johnson just as warmly. For nearly a decade now, he’s regularly made the hour-and-a-half drive south, working with musicians from across the scene—among them brilliant alto saxophonist Greg Ward, who took a suggestion from drummer and impresario Mike Reed and tapped Johnson for his 2016 project 10 Tongues. Johnson and Ward subsequently joined a nonet led by saxophonist Geof Bradfield, along with bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall—and when Johnson was invited to participate in this year’s Chicago Jazz Festival, the players he assembled were Ward, Sommers, and Hall. He’d already been pondering that quartet lineup for a few years, and he’s created a book of new pieces for it with a slightly different idea. “My goal for this project is to set up different zones for improvising rather than focus on composing,” he says. “In the past, I’ve written long, through-composed pieces that take a lot of rehearsal. These pieces are shorter in length. I’m trying to get to the central idea of the tune and then let these master improvisers do their thing.”

  • The quartet Russ Johnson brings to the Jazz Festival has yet to record, but this 2014 album uses a similar configuration, with bass clarinetist Jason Stein, bassist Anton Hatwich, and drummer Tim Daisy.

Inside/outside. East coast/midwest. No problem—Johnson walks the line. And collaborating with people this strong makes him feel good about having made his big move. He can still work with his New York posse, like he does on his 2014 CD of Dolphy tunes, Still Out to Lunch. And he can invite Chicagoans, like he does on quartet record Meeting Point, released the same year. “I have absolutely no regrets about leaving New York,” Johnson says. “My musical life is very full, and I am extremely happy to be a part of the Chicago community.”  v