Luke Johnson

The Straight-Ahead Jazz Trio presents instrumental jazz standards of the ‘50s and ‘60s rooted in the serious improvisational ambitions of that era, while being engaging to today’s mainstream audiences. Straight-Ahead is a group of seasoned musicians, featuring guitarist Luke Johnson, bassist Eric Marshall, and drummer Glenn Hoagland. They have performed with some of the best jazz and blues artists in the world including David Murray, Alex Blake, Andrew Cyrille, Drew Gress, Perry Robinson, Junior Wells, Ray Blue, and Chris Botti. Collectively the members of this trio have performed at international and local jazz festivals including the Montreal Jazz Festival, Texaco NY Jazz Festival, Philadelphia Mellon Jazz Festival, CMJ Music Conference, Marlboro Blues Festival, Peekskill Riverfront Jazz Festival, Newburgh Duwop, Blues and Jazz Festival, and the Clearwater Revival. Trio members have also performed throughout the Hudson Valley at noteworthy venues including the Millbrook Bandshell, Hyde Park Summer Concerts at Vanderbilt Mansion, Peekskill’s Music in the Park Summer Series, Traghaven Pub in Tivoli, The Beanrunner Café in Peekskill, Paramount Theater, Bacchus in New Paltz, and the Mohonk Mountain House. A typical performance will feature lyrical modern classics drawing on repertoire from giants of the genre: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, and Wayne Shorter.