by Keith Spera | Staff Writer | Reprinted from NOLA.com

Musicians remember Preservation Hall trombonist . 'Once in a generation talent.' The personification of New Orleans music, Johnson never recovered from a heart attack he suffered in April. Trombonist, sousaphonist and vocalist , a Preservation Hall stalwart whose playing and personality embodied the joyful spirit of New Orleans music, died Sunday of complications from a heart attack he suffered in April. He was 49.

Johnson was an integral member of Preservation Hall's extended family of musicians for nearly 30 years. He performed at the St. Peter Street venue multiple times a week when he wasn't on tour, either with the main Preservation Hall Jazz Band or Preservation Brass. He was a "once in a generation talent and human being," Preservation Hall creative director Ben Jaffe said on social media. "His joy was infectious. He made us all better. His heart was too big for this earth."



A third-generation musician, Johnson started playing music at age 6 and turned pro at age 12. In the 1990s, he co-founded Coolbone, a New Orleans brass band infused with hip-hop. He also played with the DejaVu Brass Band and other groups. But Preservation Hall was his primary professional affiliation. His animated performances with Preservation Brass on Monday nights at the Hall or at tour stops all over the world gave him countless opportunities to connect with listeners.

"Music wasn't meant to be enjoyed alone," Johnson told a WWL-TV reporter in 2021. "I came up literally music all around. I love jazz, always did." Not surprisingly, Johnson's Santa Claus-like presence made him a natural for Preservation Hall's pandemic-era "Holiday Grams." With music venues still closed, fans could book a musician to play a short set outside of a home or business. "It couldn't have came at a better time, to start bringing some joy when we desperately need it," Johnson said at the time.

Via Preservation Hall, Johnson interacted with a litany of A-list musicians, from the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl to Taylor Swift. But his musical merits stood on their own. He is part of the core band for Preservation Hall's acclaimed 2013 album "That's It!" and 2017's "So It Is," the first albums of all-new compositions in the band's history.

He appears throughout "A Tuba to Cuba," the 2018 documentary film about the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's journey to Cuba. His trombone is prominently featured on "For Fat Man," the Grammy-nominated 2025 Preservation Brass album on Sub Pop Records dedicated to the memory of bass drummer Kerry "Fat Man" Hunter.

As news of Johnson's passing spread, social media tributes poured in from fans and fellow musicians. Responding to Jaffe's Instagram post, Jon Batiste expressed his feelings to his 1.9 million followers with three broken-heart emojis. David Shaw, the singer for The Revivalists, posted, "This one hurts. I'll never forget the first time I heard his heart through that horn. Pure joy and elation." To cellist Helen Gillet, Johnson was "one of the kindest, uplifting and generous men I ever met." Guitarist and social media personality Joshua Starkman, who often collaborated with Johnson, praised his "love and connection with everyone he came across. I have never seen a musician with such enthusiasm to entertain and bring joy to everyone around him. What an inspiration. New Orleans and the world are going to miss him dearly."

Veteran rock photographer Steve Rapport, who has photographed numerous local musicians since moving to New Orleans four years ago, described Johnson as "an extraordinary and immensely talented musician with an incredibly happy and gregarious personality... who quite literally lit up each and every room he wandered into. He gave so much of himself every minute of every day."

Beyond Johnson's technical virtuosity, Rapport was impressed that "every note was infused with his joy of life and his unquenchable passion for music. And the same can be said for his fabulous singing, which was always accompanied by goofy dancing and trombone shenanigans."

One fan recalled that on her first trip to Preservation Hall, "we were in the front row and joked with him that his (trombone) slide was going to hit us in the head. He was so sweet when I was overcome with emotion during the performance and gave me a big hug."

Special Note: A GoFundMe account has been established to help defray medical and funeral costs.

The celebration of life and legacy for will be held at the City Church of East Lake, 13123 I-10 Service Rd, New Orleans, LA 70128 — Saturday, June 27th. Viewing is 8-9:45am, and service begins at 10am.

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