Dawn Brooks & the Cory Johnson Trio
Dawn and Cory first began performing together as young adults with a shared love of jazz standards. Over the next decade they studied in undergraduate and graduate programs in music, became full-time musicians, and got married. Dawn received her BM and MM in Vocal Performance from Cal State Long Beach and worked extensively as a singer, conductor, and teacher. She is now the Director of Music at Riviera United Methodist in Redondo Beach, a member of the vocal jazz quartet Corner Pocket, the Director the CSU Fullerton Women's Choir, and is working towards a Doctorate in Choral Music from USC. Cory earned a BM and MM in Composition, also from CSULB, and began working as an organist and pianist in Orange County. He is now an award-winning, published composer of choral music, a music theory instructor at Fullerton College, the organist at Riviera United Methodist in Redondo Beach, and co-directs, with Dawn, the contemporary band at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Newport Beach. After years of training and performance experience as classical musicians, Dawn and Cory decided to combine their talents and revisit the genre of music that began their careers.
Dawn Brooks and the Cory Johnson Trio's first gig was on the set of the TV show "Alias." Cory got a call to put together a show for the cast and crew, celebrating the final episode of season four. Cory had been in many jazz groups, but had no band of his own at the time. Cory and Dawn had one day to book musicians and put together piles of sheet music. That night, they accompanied Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, Mia Maestro, and Ron Rifkin before playing a lively set of their own. After a year of gigging, Dawn and the trio recorded their debut album "Got a Little Rhythm," featuring fresh interpretations of jazz favorites.
Personnel:
Dawn Brooks - vocals
Cory Johnson - piano
Kevin Welsh - bass
Greg Paxton - drums