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Kris Johnson
Some people are born with a natural ability to play music; it just runs in their family. Kris Johnson is one of those people. It was his brother who took him to his first jazz concert before he would realize his calling - the trumpet! But unbeknownst to Johnson until high school, both his father and his uncle had a long tenure with music. "My dad used to play the Bass professionally when he was in high school and my uncle was actually a professional keyboard player… going on tour with Quincy Jones and The Brothers Johnson," belts Johnson. Very humble about his talent, Johnson credits his early high school success to his then professor, Mr. Damien Crutcher. "I really owe a lot of my success in high school, a lot of my development [number] one, to Crutcher who saw some raw talent in me at an early age and really pushed me to do programs outside of school," Johnson recalls.
And that's exactly what he would do, participating in such programs as: University of Michigan Youth Orchestra, University of Michigan Youth Band, Michigan State University Honors Band, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Youth Orchestra. It was joining up with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Youth Orchestra that Johnson tabs as the most pivotal point in his career. "Right there at that time is when I met Rodney Whittaker who was the director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State [University]… I really started getting turned on, on a whole other level that you can reach as far as musicianship." From there, Johnson would join the DSO's Jazz Orchestra under the director of Marcus Belgrave. After completing high school at Southfield-Lathrup, Johnson would attend Michigan State University and become one of the first graduates of MSU's Jazz Studies program.
"Michigan State University's jazz program was just getting started… so when I first got to Michigan State, there weren't but a couple of real serious jazz musicians there because I'm actually one of the first graduating class of people with a Bachelor's in Jazz Studies [from Michigan State University]. When I first got there, we had a really great world-renowned faculty but the students hadn't really stepped up to the plate yet…" Johnson would step up to plate, getting his Bachelor's in Jazz Studies from MSU in 2005, Master's in 2007, and continue to take his career to new heights. These days, Johnson is doing very well for himself as a musician. Johnson would go on to become a member of the world-renowned Count Basie Orchestra. A role he didn't have to audition for, Johnson was referred to the Count Basie Orchestra by MSU Trumpet Professor Derrick Gardner. "My trumpet professor at Michigan State, Derrick Gardner, was actually in the Count Basie Orchestra playing the part that I'm now playing when he was my age," recants Johnson. "He recommended me, I went out for my first three week tour before they heard me play and I got the gig." Quite the composer and arranger, Johnson has gone on to do just that for the likes of Grammy Award winning artist Yolanda Adams and Universal/Verve Music Group recording artist Jamie Cullum. Johnson also placed first in the 8th Annual Great American Song Contest for his composition, "My Apologies." He also released his first CD, Exodus, this year. Johnson has also written three books on music theory titled: Anthology of Scales, Anthology of Chords, and Anthology of Intervals and Sequences. He also co-authored a series of jazz piano method books with the Associate Professor of Jazz Piano at Michigan State University, Rick Roe.
Right now, Johnson is gearing up for a European tour with the Count Basie Orchestra along with promoting his first CD (Exodus) and his very own jazz oratorio, Jim Crow's Tears which will be performed in the Detroit area in February for Black History Month. Johnson currently resides in Florida with his wife, Vanessa. For more information on Kris Johnson, the Count Basie Orchestra, and the jazz oratorio Jim Crow's Tears, visit: http://www.krisjohnsonmusic.com. -Marcel Friday COMMENTS Submitted by Asia on 10/27/2008 3:18:02 PM Great feature!! :)
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