Bio
Kris Johnson is a
trumpeter, composer, arranger, and educator from Detroit, MI. He has
Master’s (2007) and Bachelor’s (2005) degree in Jazz Studies from
Michigan State University, and is the third trumpeter, arranger, and
soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra. Kris Johnson plays CarolBrass® instruments.
He has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious jazz venues
including the Apollo Theater, the Blue Note Jazz Club (US & Japan),
and the Hollywood Bowl. He has also had the opportunity to perform with
many jazz greats including Tony Bennett, Patti Austin, Wess Anderson,
Wycliffe Gordon, Jon Hendricks, Monty Alexander, Rodney Whitaker &
the MSU Professors of Jazz, and many others. PBS viewers may have
seen Kris in the documentary “Inside Jazz: Everybody’s Welcome,” where
Kris was a featured soloist in a master class with jazz great Wynton
Marsalis.
Kris is an award-winning American composer. Drawing from jazz,
classical, hip-hop, and neo-soul, Kris’s writing creates diverse
textures that represent his unique musical identity. His composition
“My Apologies” was the first place recipient of the 8th Annual Great
American Song Contest (instrumental category). Kris has also composed a
jazz oratorio "Jim Crow's Tears"
which
is influenced by the history of minstrelsy and blackface. In July
of 2008 Kris premiered "Un Voyage dans les Rêves", a piece
commissioned by the Arts League of Michigan in Detroit.
Kris is a passionate composer with a keen sensitivity to the nuances of
film. As an up and coming film composer, Kris has scored for
several films including “The Rumble” and “Scoops” by Ryan Justice, the
trailer for a civil rights documentary “Uncommon” by Dan Kimbrough, and
is currently the composer for the comedic webseries “The PuNanny Diaries.” In
2010 Kris made his acting debut in Joshua Amir’s “The Saxophone
Player,” co-starring and composing the music for the film. Click here
to view Kris's
film scoring reel.
Kris is also a prominent educator in the Metro-Detroit jazz scene. The
former Assistant Director of Detroit Symphony’s Civic Jazz Ensembles
(2005-2008), Kris has mentored some of Michigan’s best young jazz
musicians. His private students have received scholarships to various
music programs and colleges including Manhattan School of Music,
Michigan State University, Interlochen Fine Arts Academy & Camp,
and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. As of 2009, Kris is serving as an
Artist in Residence at Troy and Berkley High Schools.
He is also the writer and co-creator of “The Learning Express”, a
series of workshops that use Hip-Hop and Jazz to teach Elementary
students about science, reading, and math. While pursuing his Master’s
Degree at Michigan State, Kris served as a Graduate Assistant teaching
Beginning Jazz Improvisation I & II, and conducting the MSU Jazz
Octet III.