Born in Fairborn, Ohio and raised in California Josiah Woodson started his musical journey under the tutelage of his mentor Khalil Shaheed in Oakland Ca at the age of 14. Beginning in Shaheed’s own Oaktown Jazz Workshop among the now prominent musicians like Ambrose Akinmusire, Dayna Stevens, Jonathan Finlayson, and Geoffrey Countrymen, Josiah later went on to complete his undergraduate degree at
the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The late founder and director Wendell Logan alongside Marcus Belgrave, Billy Hart, and Donald Byrd among other mentors helped prepare Woodson for the masters program at New England Conservatory where he graduated with academic honors under the continued instruction of John McNeil, Cecil McBee, Jerry Bergonzi, and Danilo Perez. Since graduating, Josiah has gone on to pursue his career in New York, performing with such greats as Branford Marsalis, the late Mulgrew Miller, Ben Williams, and the late Clarence Clemons as well as recording with rappers Yasin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and Curren$y as well as recording on the grammy winning album “4” with Beyoné Knowles . Woodson’s career has flourished after moving overseas to Paris, France where he has worked with musicians such as Mario Canonge, Gregory Privat, Arnold Doleman, Swaele Mbappe, Logan Richardson, Hermon Mahori, China Moses, and Blitz the Ambassador (Samuel Bazawulé). Notable performances include a season-opening performance of Woodson’s own “Suite Elemental” (written, arranged, and scored for symphony orchestra by Josiah) with the Oakland Symphony, winning the 2019 Sibiu Jazz Competition, tours in Lebanon and Niger with Woodson’s own projects, the unveiling of Moncer’s fashion line with Pharrell Williams and Tobé Nwingwe in Milan, and the Scoring of Samuel Bazawule’s first film “The Burial of Kojo” which went on to international success. Discography:
Josiah Woodson “Suite Elemental”
Beyoncé “4” (grammy winning)
Mario Canonge “Zouk Out”
Andy Narell “Like a Child”
Olivier Robin title tbd release 2024
David Garlitz - Cobra Fantastic title tbd release 2024
Curren$y - “Pilot Talk”
Mario Canonge/Michel Zenino “Quint’up”
Mario Canonge/Michel Zenino “Quint’up II”
David Levy’s Out to Lunch “Melvin’s Rockpile”
David Levy’s Out to Lunch “Excuse me while I do the Boogaloo”
David Levy’s Out to Lunch “Uptown 6”
David Levy’s Out to Lunch “Out to Lunch presents Etson”
Sarah Thorpe title tbd release 2024
Netflix’s “The Eddy” series soundtrack “Falling” + appearance in ep #1
And more to come!
