Pianist, Performer, Arranger, Composer, Musical Director, Educator and Conductor, Johnny Knapp has done it all in the great big world of show business. A renowned musician, he has worked throughout the United States and has performed internationally playing his compositions and accompanying some of the finest vocalists and groups during his remarkable career. The names he’s worked with read like a Who’s Who of the music and recording biz ~ Singers like Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Carmen MacRae, Lambert Hendricks and Ross, Liza Minelli, Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin, Mary Martin, Helen O’Connell, Julius LaRosa, Vic Damone, Pat Boone, Jerry Vale, Carol Channing, Giselle Mackenzie, Snooky Lanson, Sally Kellerman, Sheila Jordan, Andy Russell, Johnny Hartman, Bob Eberly, Arthur Prysock, and Col. Bruce Hampton ~ and Musicians and Composers: Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Bob Merrill, Nelson Riddle, Liberace, Peter Duchin, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Paul Desmond, Shelly Manne, Slide Hampton, Tal Farlow, Phil Woods, Toots Thielemann, Sam Most, Milt Hinton and Bill Watrous.
His own shows include, “The Evolution of Jazz Piano (from Ragtime to Blues to Modern Jazz)”, “The Evolution of the Jam Session”, and his Holiday Music Series including tributes to holidays throughout the year. He has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, the New York Jazz Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles Symphony, Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, Birdland, Basin Street East, the Village Gate, the Blue Angel and the Fox Theatre (Atlanta) in addition to several annual Super Bowl corporate parties. Our wonderful relationship with Johnny Knapp ended with his passing just days before his 90th birthday. We produced a celebration of his life in 2018 with over 120 musicians and vocalists performing in his honor with Johnny beaming in attendance.