Digital Interviews: What first sparked your interest in playing the bass?

Alphonso Johnson: The thing that really got me motivated to playing the instrument was that it was at a time when the Fender bass was a fairly new instrument -- it wasn't really developed until around the early '50s. It was something that was different.

DI: You studied bass at the Philadelphia Music Academy. What made you decide to attend that school?

AJ: I heard that John Lamb was teaching there, and since he had played bass with Duke Ellington, that's somebody I wanted to learn from. I made it a point to get involved.

DI: How long have you been performing professionally?

AJ: I started playing professionally in 1968.

DI: Early in your career you toured with the Woody Herman Orchestra. What memories do you have of that?

AJ: Great memories. Woody was a great employer. It was a great family there.

DI: Your stint with Woody Herman led to some time playing with Chuck Mangione. How did that come about?

AJ: When I was playing with Woody, the rhythm section at the time was me and Joe LaBarbera. Chuck came by and heard a gig, and he had just lost his rhythm section. Steve Gadd and Tony Levin had moved to New York, so it kind of worked out.

DI: Following that, in the mid-1970s, you were asked to join the great jazz band Weather Report.

AJ: That's right.

DI: How did they "find" you?

AJ: We were opening with Chuck's band for Weather Report, and they heard me play. Their band was in a transitional period.

DI: They must have liked what they heard.

AJ: Yeah, things happen…

DI: While you toured with Weather Report, you also began recording several solo albums. You additionally got involved in playing an instrument called the Chapman Stick. Can you describe what that is?

AJ: It's just another vehicle for expression. It's a 10-string touch-board that has five melody strings and five bass strings. It's just something I like to kind of dabble with.

DI: Fans of Jazz Is Dead may recall your time with Bobby & The Midnites, a great band that included Bobby Cochran, Matt Kelly, Billy Cobham, Brent Mydland and yourself.

AJ: That's right.

DI: You toured with the CBS All-Stars -- Tom Scott, Billy Cobham, and Steve Kahn -- and you also recorded and toured with keyboardist Rod Argent.

AJ: A long time ago.

DI: How do you find it so easy to play jazz or rock? Most people are usually stuck with one or the other.

AJ: It's just music. When I went to school to learn how to play, they didn't teach me jazz or classical or rock. They taught me how to play music, and the notes are the same. When Keith Richards plays a G-flat minor, minor 7 chord, it's the same chord Bach uses, it's the same chord Miles uses. It's just music.

DI: Didn't you score a soundtrack for a feature film as well?

AJ: Yes, it was a children's animated film in the '80s called Sound of Sunshine - Sound of Rain.

DI: Is that something you'd like to do again?

AJ: Yes, I'd like to get involved. I wish I had the time to just be at home and get involved more in writing for TV and for film. It's such a crowded field, though, you know. It's hard to get involved.

DI: How much do you tour?

AJ: Too much. [laughs] I'd say, probably four months out of the year.

DI: You also collaborated with Carlos Santana in the 1980s. What memories do you have of that time?

AJ: It was a good time. I mean, it's hard to answer that question, because there's so many things that happen in being involved in a band, you know. It's not fair to leave anything out, and there's so much that takes place. I mean, where do you start and where do you end?

DI: In the 1990s you took part in a unique experience, Abraxas, where all the original members of Carlos Santana's band, plus yourself, got together and made an album. Was that an enriching experience?

AJ: It was an interesting experience for me to go back and see where that music came from, originally, because those were all the guys who helped create that band. It wasn't just Carlos that created Santana. As a matter of fact, Chepito probably had more to do with it than anybody.

DI: Because of the rhythms of the timbales?

AJ: Not just the rhythms. He was teaching them melodies and arrangements. He was showing them how to play the parts. They all did it; no one person did it. That was the whole point. That's what Abraxas was about. It was a collaboration of everyone's input.

DI: The list of people you've toured and recorded with is extensive, everybody from Joe Williams and Lee Ritenour to Sarah Vaughan and Cannonball Adderley. Who are some of your favorite people you remember sharing the stage with?

AJ: They all are. I've been blessed not having had to play with any really bad artists. The experience with Sarah Vaughan is just as valuable to me as the experience with Sergio Mendes or Wayne Shorter. You know, they're all special people.

DI: You've had a lot of experience teaching other people, and a lot of players haven't taken the time to do so. What drives you to do that?

AJ: Well, I've got to have something to do when I retire. [laughs]

DI: Which won't be any time soon, hopefully.

AJ: It's coming up pretty soon.

DI: Teaching must be a gratifying activity as well.

AJ: It's another extension of what I like to do. I like to try to have a lot of different avenues to express myself, and not just be stuck doing one thing all the time.

DI: When you retire from touring, will you still record from time to time?

AJ: Probably.

DI: What labels have you recorded with?

AJ: CBS, and, of course, Zebra -- the label we’re with now.

DI: How did your involvement in Jazz Is Dead come about?

AJ: I got a phone call, I think it was T Lavitz. He was explaining to me about the musicians and the music. Everybody got together, and here we are.

DI: Do you see yourself involved in it for a while?

AJ: I see myself going home at the end of the week. [laughs]