Kris Johnson is a trumpeter, composer, arranger, and educator with a Master’s (2007) and Bachelor’s (2005) degree in Jazz Studies from Michigan State University. A native of Detroit, MI, Kris’s education began with Damien Crutcher’s music program at Southfield-Lathrup High School (2001), Harold McKinney’s jazz workshop, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Marcus Belgrave. He was also a recipient a scholarship from the James Tatum Foundation of the Arts in 2001.
Kris has since performed with many jazz greats including Wess Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Jon Hendricks, 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 proud to be going on a US tour this month playing third trumpet with the world renown Count Basie Orchestra.
Kris is also the writer and composer of "Jim Crow's Tears", a jazz oratorio influenced by the history of minstrelsy and blackface entertainment in the United States. This educational presentation combines musical, theatrical, and visual arts to tell the story of a young slave who was forced to become a minstrel performer. "Jim Crow's Tears†makes ties between minstrel shows and modern day media; focusing on the perpetuation of the negative stereotypes of African Americans.
The composition is orchestrated for vocal quartet, jazz octet, string quartet, and woodwind quartet, featuring text read by a narrator. There is also a black iconography slide show of negative images from the past and present that contribute a great deal to the audience’s understanding of the demeaning and disturbing nature of the racial prejudices formed against African Americans in this country.
Kris recently received first place in the 8th Annual Great American Song Contest for his composition “My Apologiesâ€. His writing can also be heard on the track “My Favorite Things†from Yolanda Adams’s 2007 release “What a Wonderful Day,†on which he played trumpet and arranged the horns. Kris currently serves as the Assistant Conductor of Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Ensembles.
For more info about Kris visit www.krisjohnsonmusic.com and visit www.jimcrowstears.com for more information about his jazz oratorio.
Jim Crow's Tears Demo
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Kris Johnson Sextet Live at Oade's Hidden Camel in Lansing, MI
“Blues Collisionâ€
KJME Live
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Kris Johnson Sextet performing Kris's award winning composition "My Apologies" live at Oades Hidden Camel in Lansing, MI.
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MSU Jazz Faculty and Stundents
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