Johnny Rae

Who is Johnny Rae?

John Anthony Pompeo, better known as Johnny Rae, is an American jazz drummer and vibraphonist.

Rae graduated from East Boston High School in 1952 and studied music at the New England Conservatory and at the Berklee College of Music in the early 1950s. His mother was a night club pianist in the Boston area. His first major professional gig was with Herb Pomeroy in 1953-54; following this he played with George Shearing, Johnny Smith, Ralph Sharon, Cozy Cole, Herbie Mann, Cal Tjader, Stan Getz, Gábor Szabó, Charlie Byrd, Earl Hines, Art Van Damme, and Barney Kessel. In addition to modern jazz, he also plays Latin jazz percussion.

Since the 1980s Rae has worked in music education and has authored several instruction books. He was a disc jockey in San Francisco for many years.

John was married to Mary Carroll, a San Francisco technical recruiter and author, for 3 years.