English teacher on the sax

De Anza College received yet another compliment about its well-rounded excellence in many of its educational departments - in this case, music.

Part-time musician Ryan Johnson, 21, is a De Anza student working full-time as an English teacher to support himself. Johnson moved from Shasta College in Redding to Campbell in fall 2007. He says that De Anza has a great comprehensive music program.

Johnson has been in big bands since high school, but said he did not learn about what jazz really was until he came to De Anza and took an improvisational class which allows students to freely play what they feel within a small group, rather than sticking strictly to playing the composed notes in a piece of music.

"We did a lot of big band tunes, not the kind of jazz I'm into now, which is more mainstream or straight-ahead jazz, what I am gravitating toward," Johnson said.

He started music in the fifth grade, learning how to blow into his saxophone and how to set his fingers to make each note. But other than that, Johnson said, he didn't learn much else from his sax teacher.

Johnson grew up hearing what his mother listened to, country and classic rock, so when he heard a live jazz band in middle school, he was impressed. When he moved to De Anza 10 years later, he discovered that he had apparently been doing everything wrong.

According to Johnson, music instructor Bob Farrington tried to teach Johnson how to play the saxophone the "right" way when he first came to De Anza. But there were so many errors to fix, both mentor and student became frustrated to the breaking point and gave up after two weeks as tension lingered.

Johnson said he took what Farrington had to say to heart, and continued to work on his music. Recently, almost two years later, Farrington heard Johnson play.

"He was my harshest critic, but he had such positive things to say," Johnson said. "My tone, note choices, entire style, comparing me to professional musicians…this is the guy who couldn't stand me and now he's giving me compliments, so I feel like sticking with this class at De Anza has done a lot for me. I've seen a lot of musicians come here from very far away…there is no other class like it. You get close together and get to perform."

Johnson and the rest of his classmates in course Music 48, lead by Steve Tyler and John Russell, will be performing in the Visual Performing Arts Center for the first time next Sunday, June 21, at 7 p.m.

He also performs outside De Anza as well in a 3-piece, performing in weddings and churches on "Moments Notice," their temporary band name for now, named after a John Coltrane tune.

While Johnson plays his tenor sax, Gary Fisher, a chemistry professor at De Anza, plays the guitar, and Tyler Tucker is on the bass. Johnson said they will be soon charging for their gigs.

"Music can be really personal," Johnson said. "It's kind of an extension of one's soul-how you want to express yourself… right now my skill level with sax is okay, but I'd like to learn more on gaining certain level of skill that allows me to express myself as freely as I can hear it in my head."

Johnson also seems to have feelings of uncertainty clouding his future. "Right now I feel so lost because I don't know what to do when I'm done with De Anza," he said. "I don't know where I'm going, and I don't know what I particularly want to study because I am going back and forth with my major… if I could figure that out, I feel like the rest of my life would have meaning."