Dave Johnstone Bio

Dave Johnstone grew up in St. Louis, MO, where he began playing local jazz gigs at age 15. After high school Dave attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. Now based in Los Angeles, Dave currently serves as music director and recording/touring drummer for Resonance Records artist Aubrey Logan (Postmodern Jukebox). Dave played on Aubrey’s debut album, “Impossible” which reached #2 on the iTunes Jazz Charts and #13 on Billboard, and follow up album “Where the Sunshine is Expensive” which reached #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. Other current projects include Tina Aldana (Motown Records), and McPhee International Vocal Studios, among many others. He has worked with a wide range of artists, including Liza Minnelli, Jeff Lorber, Dave Koz, Ellis Hall, The Dan Band, Cortes Alexander, Allison Janney, Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops, Leslie Page, and The Running Jumps. Dave has been seen performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Call with Carson Daly, Ellen, and NBC’s Last Comic Standing. He has played on many albums and film/television scores, including the score for the Oscar-winning film “Juno”, Universal Studios “Blockers” and “Dig” on USA Network. From 2011–2017 Dave was the drummer for the award-winning vocal jazz department at Mt. San Antonio College, with whom he had the honor of performing at the 2013 Monterey Jazz Festival, and also received a Downbeat Magazine award for their 2015 album, “Nothing But Static.”

Dave is a frequent contributor to the popular jazz education website, Open Studio Network.

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