About Kris

Kris Johnson is a Detroit-based trumpeter, composer, arranger, film composer, and educator whose work spans orchestral commissions, musical theatre, film scoring, and contemporary jazz. His recent commission from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Marlowe’s Wings, premiered in 2025 with Kris as featured soloist. He has composed multiple musicals—including Jim Crow’s Tears and Hastings Street: The Musical—scored films such as the Emmy-nominated series King Ester, and produced a range of personal creative projects including The Kris Johnson Group and #looptherapy. He is also the founder and director of the Paradise Theatre Big Band in partnership with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

As a performer and arranger, Kris has contributed to seven GRAMMY-nominated albums, including the 2024 GRAMMY-winning Basie Swings the Blues by the Count Basie Orchestra. From 2008–2019, he toured internationally with the Basie Orchestra as both soloist and arranger, performing at major venues such as the Apollo Theater, Hollywood Bowl, Sydney Opera House, and the Kennedy Center. His collaborative work extends to artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leslie Odom Jr., Wycliffe Gordon, and others. From 2023–2024 he toured globally with Endea Owens and The Cookout, further highlighting his versatility across musical settings.

Kris currently serves as Assistant Professor of Jazz Trumpet at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. A graduate of Michigan State University, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Jazz Studies, he has held leadership and teaching roles across the country. His previous positions include Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Utah, Project Director for a U.S. Department of Education AEMDD Grant with the Pontiac School District, Education and Digital Programming Manager for the Motown Museum, and Executive Director of the MSU Community Music School–Detroit. He has also served on the faculties of The Ohio State University, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles, and as Artistic Liaison for JazzEd Detroit through ArtOps and the Erb Family Foundation.