Meet Kris Johnson | Trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kris Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kris, what is the most important factor behind your success?
As soon as I made a clear decision to be my true authentic self in my branding I saw my business begin to soar. As a young business owner, there was definitely a time early on when I felt that I needed to fit a certain mold and fall into the practices and habits that I saw trending amongst my peers. However, it never quite felt right. It felt plastic and put on, and it also didn’t reach people because it was immediately clear that I wasn’t comfortable. Honesty and transparency are at the heart of my business practices, and the defining characteristic of my music as well. And it feels good too, lol.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m honestly proud of the freedom I’ve discovered through music. I’ve always been artistic. When I took piano lessons as a young kid I was way more concerned with creating music than I was with learning the lesson assigned to me. And there was always a pencil in my hand as I was constantly drawing. I can honestly say that from an early age there was an element of escapism, fantasy, and creativity that fueled everything I did. Studying music traditionally exposed a lot of areas that I was weak in however. I struggled greatly with rhythm and pitch, which is pretty hilarious because that’s essentially what music is made up of. I had the hardest time hearing and feeling the beat, and for a period of time I was completely tone deaf. But I wanted it so badly I pushed through it and dove into the things that I struggled with to an obsessive degree. Constantly playing my trumpet and trying to sing back what I heard. Playing notes on the piano and trying to match the pitch. Listening to music and attempting to move accurately to the beat. I would say my talent was not so much musical, as much as it was spiritual. I was creative and DETERMINED. I feel like that’s the gift that I’m really proud of. The discipline to make a decision to be committed to learning something and getting it done. As hard as it was to overcome all of that, I’m so thankful for that struggle because it’s made me a much better educator. I can cater to the learning style of any student because I started at the very bottom. I can fuel the spark I see in a students’ desire to succeed and give them step by step methods that I used to work through my own deficiencies. I stuck with it and succeeded because I knew I had something to say. Something important to contribute. And I’m really proud of that little boy who is now free to express himself through his art.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Definitely have to explore the diverse artistic experience here in Detroit. It’s pretty wild how much we have access to. Art at the Charles H. Wright Museum and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Nature at the Belle Isle Zoo and Kensington Park. Music ranging from the jazz clubs around the city like Cliff Bells to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Detroit history through the Motown Museum and the Detroit Historical Museum. There’s a long list, lol. And there’s so much food from so many different cultures, too. Definitely get some authentic Mexican food in Southwest Detroit, or visit both the American and Lafayette Coney Islands and weigh in on the ongoing debate on which one is the best. Last, we would definitely have to take a trip up to historic Idlewild for a vacation on the lake. My family has owned property there for several generations.Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout goes to Solomon Parham. Solomon is a close friend, mentor, and fellow musician who has been by my side since my senior year of high school. When we first met, he was in his 20’s and working as a musical mentor in a youth organization through the Detroit Symphony Orchestra called the Civic Jazz Orchestra. He was immediately a character. I was a suburban kid and as green as could be, and he was definitely the hip big brother from Detroit that took it upon himself to teach me all the things I would never learn in school. It wasn’t long after I started college that we became close friends and he remains one of my best friends to this day. He’s an inspiration behind a list of different milestones in my career that I’d love to shoutout here.

1) I remember the first time I went to his house for a trumpet lesson and saw how he had his music books and materials organized to perfection. For whatever reason, just seeing how clearly his manuscript books, CDs, and bootleg recordings were meticulously laid out sparked something in me. I’m known now for being a bit over the top with how I keep my studio space and how I present information, Solomon played a major hand in that.

2) This man patiently worked with me for YEARS during a time I didn’t care about my personal appearance. I was pretty boring and unkempt, and such a music nerd I didn’t see the value in it. His favorite nickname for me was “mop top” because of my outrageous, ungroomed curly hair, and for awhile he actually was my barber. SMH, I got it together though.

3) Over time I advanced a lot in my studies and started learning some things that he himself wanted to learn. There was no awkward transition from me being the student and him the teacher to us being friends and him wanting to learn from me. He handled it with grace and showed me how to be “humble to the craft”, something I adopted with all of my students moving forward. There was always something to be learned regardless of generational gaps. His favorite phrase when I was explaining something to him was “break it down to me like I’m a third grader”. I didn’t realize until much later that as a master educator, he was also teaching me how to be more patient and thorough in my pedagogy.

4) There are a lot of stories to share, but I’ll make this the last one for now. Solomon was the reason I expanded my skill set into producing music on computers. I was definitely a purist, and thought all I needed was acoustic instruments and sheet music. He pushed me towards different styles of music, different ways of creating music, and was the inspiration behind me getting my first MIDI controller and MacBook. Thanks bruh. Love you dude, for real.
Website: https://www.krisjohnsonmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krisjohnsonmusic/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisjohnsonmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krisjohnsonmusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/krisjohnsonmusic

Other: https://www.officehourswithkrisjohnson.com/

Image Credits
Matt Lima, Brent Rowland, Matt Pandolfe