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He's back and he is taking jazz to a whole new level !

99K views 416 replies 116 participants last post by  MLucky 
#1 ·
This guy, Ski Johnson, claims to be a three-time grammy nominated artist and to have a number one record. He has a bunch of " appereance videos " where he shows up and play his horn terribly. Claims to be a number one jazz super star. Plays awful IMHO. I think he is either trying to scam high society or he is punking the whole smooth jazz thing.

Who is this guy ?
 
#97 ·
At the risk of drifting off-topic, although I believe this guy deserves all the crap we can dish out, some posts were making me think about what people see and hear on TV and that the general population not only has no idea what jazz is, they don't even know what decent singing is. As I drift through the channels on my TV, I hear portions of those various reality TV singing shows, like American Idol and The Voice. Last night something came on while I was at my computer and I didn't get up to change it, it just kept playing. I hated it. On all these shows, the singing is usually gawdawful. Yet the judges, or whatever they are, will always say something positive and will couch their negatives in a lot of softening language. The audiences applaud wildly, for what is obvious to anyone with an ear, "singers" who can't really sing. It's not just that they're off pitch, it's that they're not even close, their singing technique is totally lacking, and they're painful and annoying to listen to. Yet they're singing on a national television program. So the casual viewer accepts that this is what good singing is.

And then there are all the "professional" and other singers who sing the national anthem at sports events. If they're really good, they just sing it straight (it's hard enough as it is). But the really awful ones feel a need to do their own "interpretation" and end up badly butchering the song. It makes me want to shoot them. Yet the consequence is, especially when the singer is some sort of "star" or recording artist, that the vast majority of the audience thinks this is good singing when it's clearly not.

So the same thing has happened with all music, not just jazz. People don't have any way to judge musical quality or musicianship because what they are presented as good music and talent in the mass media is actually bad music and poor musical ability. I don't know that anything can be done about it. It's just the across-the-board lowering of standards that happens with mass media appealing to the lowest common denominator. The only bright spot in this depressing state of affairs is that when a true talent comes along, it usually stands out because it's so obviously several levels above the crap that everybody is consuming. I'm not as impressed by Adele as most other people apparently are -- I think her songs are all the same -- but she clearly has a good voice, she writes songs that appeal to people, and she sings them with emotional expressivity. Result: unlike the liar Ski Johnson, she really is #1 on the charts and took home a truckload of Grammies. Talent will out. Meanwhile, a lot of dreck will pass as decent music. But it won't survive in the long run. I guess it will always be so.

/rant off
 
#99 ·
At the risk of drifting off-topic, although I believe this guy deserves all the crap we can dish out, some posts were making me think about what people see and hear on TV and that the general population not only has no idea what jazz is, they don't even know what decent singing is. As I drift through the channels on my TV, I hear portions of those various reality TV singing shows, like American Idol and The Voice. Last night something came on while I was at my computer and I didn't get up to change it, it just kept playing. I hated it. On all these shows, the singing is usually gawdawful. Yet the judges, or whatever they are, will always say something positive and will couch their negatives in a lot of softening language. The audiences applaud wildly, for what is obvious to anyone with an ear, "singers" who can't really sing. It's not just that they're off pitch, it's that they're not even close, their singing technique is totally lacking, and they're painful and annoying to listen to. Yet they're singing on a national television program. So the casual viewer accepts that this is what good singing is.

And then there are all the "professional" and other singers who sing the national anthem at sports events. If they're really good, they just sing it straight (it's hard enough as it is). But the really awful ones feel a need to do their own "interpretation" and end up badly butchering the song. It makes me want to shoot them. Yet the consequence is, especially when the singer is some sort of "star" or recording artist, that the vast majority of the audience thinks this is good singing when it's clearly not.

So the same thing has happened with all music, not just jazz. People don't have any way to judge musical quality or musicianship because what they are presented as good music and talent in the mass media is actually bad music and poor musical ability. I don't know that anything can be done about it. It's just the across-the-board lowering of standards that happens with mass media appealing to the lowest common denominator. The only bright spot in this depressing state of affairs is that when a true talent comes along, it usually stands out because it's so obviously several levels above the crap that everybody is consuming. I'm not as impressed by Adele as most other people apparently are -- I think her songs are all the same -- but she clearly has a good voice, she writes songs that appeal to people, and she sings them with emotional expressivity. Result: unlike the liar Ski Johnson, she really is #1 on the charts and took home a truckload of Grammies. Talent will out. Meanwhile, a lot of dreck will pass as decent music. But it won't survive in the long run. I guess it will always be so.

/rant off
Go post modernism!
 
#98 ·
At least the forum has someone that we can all agree is horrible. He has officially dethroned Kenny G. You can give valid arguments that the Gster can play pretty well even if you think he plays crap music. No such argument can be made for the Skister.
 
#100 ·
I was thinking about that very subject last night and the vast difference there is between the playing on that video of KG warming up in the can at the Blue Note and this guy supposedly playing before an audience. I wouldn't want to be forced to listen to either of them for any length of time, but as you point out, at least KG plays real music with total command of his embouchere and instrument. The other guy---Fugeddaboutit!
 
#103 ·
I’m powerfully impressed at the way this thread has disected the fraud going on here, though saddened at what it says about the power of the media to delude people.

I don’t think we can do much about the fact that several million of our fellow citizens believe reality shows actually present real, unscripted life—at least not in the short run.

But I think—I hope—we might be able to expose Johnson for what he is. But it would have to be done in just the right way to be successful, and avoid giving him any more publicity. Or getting any of us sued, for that matter. I would love to see a focused conversation on how that might be accomplished.

As a first I thought about having some well-known musician making a statement, but I realized that would just be seen as one man's opinion, regardless of how well-informed.

I don’t think NARAS (the Grammy people) would have the balls to say anything.

Ultimately I think it should be focused on his actual attempts to defraud people criminally of their money?

Does anyone know an honest journalist?
 
#104 ·
I hate to beat a person up who is trying to make a living. However there are so many stellar musicians overflowing with talent, work ethic, and years of dedication languishing far from the limelight, it angers me to see this mess.

To see this doodler's name mentioned in the same sentence as "Grammy" and getting major TV exposure for utter mediocrity is a real crime. He may not be representing himself originally as a joke, but it is certainly one to me.[rolleyes]
 
#107 ·
It would make for a good article, the subject being the deteriorating ability to recognize good musicianship.
They could use Ski Johnson as a perfect example of this, how he manages to book himself on television with no one calling his bluff.

Maybe someone from DownBeat or JazzTimes would be interested?
 
#108 ·
I actually know some honest journalists, more than one. But they would have no interest in a story about a bad musician getting attention through fraudulent promotion and inflating his accomplishments. What's newsworthy about that?
 
#114 ·
It's apparently quite easy. On the tv shows, he either invites himself (begs to be interviewed if necessary), or has a shill contact the show on his behalf suggesting that they interview this big famous Jazz Legend, Ski Johnson. Face it...the news anchors he's managed to dupe into interviewing him are clearly not the brightest bulbs. They seem to jump at the opportunity to interview a so-called "#1 Billboard Artist and Three-time Grammy Nominee". What a feather in their cap...huh? Who's going to question such bold claims? Surely not a professional news reporter. That's not their job. Their job is merely to report, not investigate. (???)

I saw one of Ski Johnson's shills in action on facebook...leaving a message on the CNN facebook page suggesting that they interview "#1 Billboard Artist and Three-time Grammy Nominee, Ski Johnson" on the CNN 'Face To Face' program. I'll be surprised if that one works, but Ski's track record for that kind of blatant self-invitation seems to have worked very well so far.

The awards shows? Anyone can crash an awards show if they dress well enough and bring along their own "posse". Who's going to question a guy bold enough to show up wearing a tuxedo, carrying a saxophone, and claiming to be "Jazz Superstar, Ski Johnson"? If he's got his own camera crew and balls enough to call himself a Superstar, he MUST be famous...right?

"Please, Mr Johnson...don't worry about that silly ole guest list. It's an honor to have you here!"
 
#121 ·
This set me thinking. Wouldn't it in fact be possible for Ski to set up multiple Facebook accounts who then become his "fans".
It's against facebook rules to have more than one personal profile, but it's done all the time. It's just as easy to set up multiple facebook profiles as it is to set up multiple youtube profiles. You just have to have a separate and valid email address for each one, and then make up a bunch of fictitious personal details. I don't think facebook polices the IP address very hard because there are too many family members with different profiles but legitimately signing on from the same IP address. If they policed IP addresses, only one person per household would be able to have a facebook profile, and that's not going to happen.
 
#123 ·
If they policed IP addresses, only one person per household would be able to have a facebook profile, and that's not going to happen.
Right. And I'm guessing that a load of linked PCs (eg in a school/university/workplace) would all show as having the same IP address?

Re SOTW I once set up a fake account here as a joke - a Russian model with a thing for saxophones and snakes (a stupid thing to do no doubt but i suppose i thought i was being funny at the time, she had about 20 friends requests within 24 hours). One of the Admins was on that pretty quick I must say. So I'll completely vouch for what milandro is saying that the staff here do make an real effort to police this as far as SOTW is concerned.
 
#120 ·
I don’t know about facebook (I loathe facebook...sorry) but SOTW seems to be policing this in as much this is possible (at least preventing multiple accounts from the same IP address) of course there has been speculation that this has been done by some .

A person that is so image conscious could try any trick in the book or outside to be in the centre of the attention.

IF he is never been nominated for any Grammy could this LEGALLY be considered acting under false pretences?
 
#122 ·
I wouldn't doubt that. He also probably has his "people", including those blonds from the video, doing the "friending" and "liking" of him online too. Then there is the question of money. It takes cash to finance all this theatrical reality he's created, so where is it coming from. Clearly he's not getting paid to gate crash, and AFAIK those Good Morning type TV appearances are unpaid except in PR value. I could be wrong of course. He's got a bunch of albums on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...arch-alias=popular&field-keywords=ski+johnson and sadly for music there are undoubtly people who are buying them. Does anyone know if this guy actually gets paying gigs and tours, or any venues he's played at in the real world and not online?
 
#138 ·
Then there is the question of money. It takes cash to finance all this theatrical reality he's created, so where is it coming from. Clearly he's not getting paid to gate crash, and AFAIK those Good Morning type TV appearances are unpaid except in PR value.
In my opinion, this is where the real crime is. Honestly, who really cares if someone lives in their own fantasy world and claims to be something they're not. No skin off of my nose or yours, right? What truly makes me sick about Ski Johnson is that he appears to be using his Jazz For Life Foundation as the main source of his personal income. As I've noted before, there's absolutely no evidence that I can find anywhere to indicate that the Jazz For Life Foundation is a legitimate charity of any kind. It's not listed with any of the watch-dog groups that usually keep track of charities and non-profit organizations. It's not listed with the BBB. It's not mentioned anywhere on the internet except on his own website and in press releases that originate from his own activities. His website doesn't offer any way to find out any more details about how the Foundation operates, what percentage of proceeds ever go to cancer research, or if it's even properly set up as a legal and legitimate charity or non-profit organization. Most of his income seems to stem from performances that he advertises as "fund raising events". Sure they're fund raising events. Events to raise funds for his own profit. The more he advertises his philosophy of "giving back", the more money he's able to channel into his own bank account through what seems to be a totally bogus "Foundation".

I really couldn't care less about the fraud he's perpetrating by pretending to be a great musician when in fact he sucks. There's a much bigger fraud that he seems to be getting away with...bilking the public for money in the name of a charitable foundation that doesn't appear to have any legitimacy whatsoever.
 
#125 ·
Much mischief could be made at the Skisters expense. A Facebook fan page could be set-up with invites to all of his contacts. His Youtube video could be edited to concentrate on wrong notes in the National Anthem. Likewise his personal appearance videos. He has put himself in the public eye and now is a "Public Figure"....making him fair game for satire.


Just a couple of thoughts. Someone could have alot of fun with this.
 
#130 ·
I searched for him on iTunes and he has various cuts from 3 of his albums. I must be a serious glutton for punishment because I actually listened to 2 of them, I Need You and Miles And Me.

The first one is so absolutely horrendous it's actually funny and I couldn't stop laughing at the end. It features (if you can use that word in this context) some awful vocalist who is either a woman with a deep voice or a man singing bad falsetto, and Skijump Johnson interjecting some really lame out of tune, unmelodic 3, 5 and 6 note "riffs". It's so bad that you have to hear it to believe it, and frankly I can't imagine this "group" playing live anywhere and living through the gig. The audience would kill them and get off on a plea of self-defense.

As to Miles And Me, the title alone is so pretentious (as if he and Miles were buds) and co-optive (trading on the name of dead Giant), that Ski is lucky that Miles is dead or he'd be in the hospital by now.
 
#132 ·
As to Miles And Me, the title alone is so pretentious (as if he and Miles were buds) and co-optive (trading on the name of dead Giant), that Ski is lucky that Miles is dead or he'd be in the hospital by now.
There's another one with some stuff about him and John Coltrane, along the lines of:

Me and Coltrane
Feelin the pain
It's insane
Hurtin my brain
Like cocaine
etc etc

Hey, Ski, I can do your lyrics for you, mate!

And here's how it should be done:

 
#134 ·
Might as well give him a few reviews... since the system uses my real name, it would be totally okay with me if a few of you who have iTunes accounts would jump on with me so I'm not the ONLY person his "people" can be mad at.
 
#135 ·
I can see doing that. I already wrote some truth on one of his Youtube videos, but how do you do it on iTunes? It's also possible to write reviews on Amazon. I wrote a few years ago for some of my fav jazz albums and a couple of novels, and it wouldn't be hard to do it for his "music".
 
#141 ·
I did a little research on organizations that research legitimate charities. Not unexpectedly, Ski gets an F.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/ - - - no info
http://charityreports.bbb.org/public/Default.aspx --No info
http://www.charitywatch.org/ - no info
A major player seems to be
http://www.guidestar.org/
but you must register and I can't do that at the moment.[/COLOR]

Two other good suggestions were to contact 60 Minutes and the Attorney General's office for the state where he does business. One youtube mentioned DC, but the cancelled charity event was apparently in Seattle. Do we know his state of residence?
 
#145 ·
I had already checked all of the sources you linked, and several others. As I said before, the only evidence of the existence of the Jazz For Life Foundation on the entire internet is on his own website, in television interviews that he initiated, and on printed advertisements for fund raising events where he supposedly performed. Other than by his own declaration, it doesn't seem to exist as far as any publicly available records are able to show.

On his facebook page he claims to live in Beverly Hills (go figure), but there are no public records of any Ski Johnson living in Beverly Hills (again, go figure). According to the public records that ARE available, the only Ski Johnson in California lives in a tiny town called Eldridge.
 
#142 ·
OK. I got to stop poking at this sore tooth and get back to work, but I had to post this, from 2009.

"SKI JOHNSON AT THE WHITEHOUSE (get this!) CORESPONDENCE DINNER"



Someone doesn't understand that there is a dinner for "correspondents"--news people--who make a living behind a typewriter covering the White House, and are NOT the movie/TV stars and supermodels in this video who agreed to say some inanity about an afterparty (after what?) full of beautiful people and with great music. Ski does not appear or play.

What a psychotically persistent scammer this guy is! Makes my skin crawl.
 
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