Jackie Johnson

A Northwestern music minor, I'm passionate about teaching and hold an elementary certification from the Royal Conservatory of Music. After a decade long residency at the Fairmont and Nikko Hotels in Chicago, I moved to LA for a 16 year long residency at the Ritz Carlton and Langham Hotels. With over three decades of professional playing and nearly as many years of teaching experience, my journey started with a classical foundation but quickly evolved to include jazz, beginning at the age of 13. Post-college, my musical path led to gigs predominantly rooted in pop and jazz. Music theory, especially jazz theory, is a particular joy for me, and I find immense satisfaction in guiding young minds through musical discoveries and helping adults unlock their love and potential for music.

Living in Los Angeles has provided a few fun musical experiences, like recording piano on camera for the TV show Numbers and JAG as well as a short film by renowned director Sean Cunningham called The Music Teacher. I've also worked as a copyist for Barry Manilow for his show in Las Vegas and two of his "Best of..." albums. I loved studying composing and arranging at Northwestern and DePaul as well as UCLA which led to composing a few film scores as well as music editing for film and TV.