Johnny Cochran Jr

A native of Cleveland's southwest side, saxophonist Johnny Cochran was a music lover at an early age. Through his music, he aims to share his life story growing up in Cleveland. As a child Johnny was active in gospel music playing drums in church and singing in the choir. Later, he started playing saxophone in elementary school, which opened the door for learning about jazz. He attended Cleveland School of the Arts and Cuyahoga Community College simultaneously during high school, studying saxophone with the legendry Ernie Krivda and finding mentorship in many other local Cleveland players. While furthing his training at the Oberlin Conservatory, he has remained an active professional performing in the Cleveland area with bands such as, Mojo: The Generations Big Band, The Jazz Heritage Orchestra, Erine Krivda's Fat Tuesday Big Band, and The Swing City Big Band. He has had the opportunity to perform with world-renowned artists such as Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Sean Jones, and many others. He is also currently a member of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Ohio native, Sean Jones. Johnny studied with Gary Bartz at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and graduated in May of 2013. In addition to the saxophone, his primary instrument, he is proficient at the piano, drums, and various woodwind instruments. In his music, Johnny creates a sound that is all his own blending modern ideas with the sounds of his upbringing.