Eric Johnson

Guitarist and composer based in Austin, Texas, Eric Johnson has built since the 1970s a body of work centered on instrumental guitar, drawing on rock, blues, jazz fusion, country and folk influences. After beginnings with the jazz-rock group The Electromagnets and work as a session musician, he launched a solo career with the album Tones in 1986, followed by Ah Via Musicom in 1990, which firmly established his name on the American rock scene. His playing is marked by precise melodic development, very clear note articulation and a taste for sophisticated harmonies, whether in an electric trio or in more acoustic settings. He alternates studio albums such as Venus Isle (1996), Bloom (2005), Up Close (2010), EJ (2016), The Book of Making (2022) and Yesterday Meets Today (2022) with live recordings. He occasionally collaborates with other guitarists, notably on Eclectic with Mike Stern in 2014 and as part of the G3 project alongside Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. His work has frequently been recognized, with several Grammy nominations and an award for the instrumental track "Cliffs of Dover".