Dawn Brooks & the Cory Johnson Trio: News

Well - he's here and the world better be ready for the cuteness known as Cole Foster Johnson. Check out the photos section to be wowed by the handsome bambino!

After Cole selfishly consumed the first half of their summer (babies tend to be that way) Dawn and Cory are now setting their sights on balancing work and family. This fall is already full of exciting performances including a performance as part of the Second Thoughts series of poetry and music at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton and a Tribute to Sondheim concert with Dawn and friends as the season opener of the Riviera United Methodist 2009-2010 Concert Series. Stay tuned for more updates and performance details!

Everyone who thought we'd be content with Dawn finishing her doctorate this spring, Cory enlightening the minds of young musicians at Fullerton College, Dawn leading a coalition of the willing and musical at Cal State Fullerton and the Huntington Landmark Chorale, and both continuing their hectic, but rewarding jobs at Riviera United Methodist and Our Lady Queen of Angels isn't familiar with how this duo likes to plan their lives. They like to punctuate the busy seasons with new personal achievements as well. Thus, the news has arrived of the imminent and highly anticipated addition to their family of two humans, one moody cat, and one obliviously happy dog - Baby Johnson! More details to come after the exciting premiere in June...

But along with all of this still comes many exciting performance this spring, some public and some private. A certain highlight is the concert on February 6th at Grace First Presbyterian in Lakewood (see the Calendar section for more details) with special guest vocalist Tim "Scat-Man" Smith!

After a short break for Dawn's schooling and Cory's busy composition and teaching schedule, Dawn Brooks and the Cory Johnson Trio are back to business and ready to play jazz again. Exciting new performances have been added (check the Calendar section) and they're working on new repertoire.

Dawn is excited to be finished with her coursework at USC (no small task) and proud to become the newest member of the choral faculty at Cal State Fullerton, conducting the Women's Choir. Soon to be Dr. Dawn (a few more fun requirements to complete), she is relieved, optimistic, and ready to sing some jazz.

Over the summer, Cory has been writing orchestrations for a stage show in Berlin, Germany. On the composition front, his latest choral hit is a stunning arrangement of "America the Beautiful" that has already had multiple performances. He is setting aside more time this fall to compose, so be on the lookout for his next new piece available exclusively through Hal Leonard.

Supplies of the group's latest CD "Got a Little Rhythm" are running low at their distributor, so be sure to order one while you still can! http://cdbaby.com/cd/dbatcjt
You can listen to clips by clicking "Music" on the left side of this page. Two of the group's most popular tracks are now available as free MP3 downloads.

Dawn and Cory's album "Got a Little Rhythm," is selling like hotcakes, so be sure to pick up your copy before they're all gone. You can buy it on the web at http://cdbaby.com/cd/dbatcjt or at any of their shows.

Speaking of shows, after a series of private events, the band finally has a public concert in Redondo Beach on September 22nd. Check the calendar section for more info.

Dawn is in the final stretch of the Doctoral Music program at USC, so the group may soon be known as Dr. Dawn and the CJ Trio. Over her busy summer in school, she managed to find time to do session work at Capitol Records.

Cory is busy churning out new charts for the band and writing choral music. He has returned to his music theory teaching gig at Fullerton College, and his choral music is now exclusively distributed by Hal Leonard.

The debut disc from Dawn Brooks & the Cory Johnson Trio is now available! You can listen to clips of all thirteen tracks and purchase the CD, "Got a Little Rhythm," on the web at http://cdbaby.com/cd/dbatcjt. You can also buy the album directly from Dawn or Cory.

Tracks:
1. Fascinating Rhythm (Gershwin/Gershwin)
2. If I Were a Bell (Loesser)
3. Mai (Hugo/Fauré)
4. You Don’t Know What Love Is (Raye/DePaul)
5. (There’s Gotta Be) Something Better Than This (Fields/Coleman)
6. Easy Living (Robin/Rainger)
7. On the Sunny Side of the Street (Fields/McHugh)
8. Old Devil Moon (Harburg/Lane)
9. What Good Would the Moon Be? (Hughes/Weill)
10. Mood Indigo (Bigard/Ellington/Mills)
11. Recurrence (Parker/Johnson)
12. It’s All Right With Me (Porter)
13. ‘Round Midnight (Hanighen/Monk/Williams)

Vocals - Dawn Brooks
Piano - Cory Johnson
Bass - Kevin Welsh
Drums - Greg Paxton

Vocals on #7 - Tim Smith
Vocals on #10 - Corner Pocket
(Sarah Parga, Elizabeth Ladizinsky, Dawn Brooks, Mark Waters)