The Kris Johnson Group

Mark Stryker
Detroit Free Press Music
September 12, 2012

A host of starry veteran musicians are on tap for later today at the Detroit Jazz Festival, including Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Charles McPherson, Tom Harrell and Louis Hayes. But the early afternoon at Hart Plaza belonged to youth.

As healthy crowds began to build under the warm sun and blue skies, two Detroit-bred musicians in their 20s, both of whom were mentored by bassist Rodney Whitaker at Michigan State University, led bands that explored various corners of the modern mainstream. The three-horn sextet fronted by bassist Noah Jackson at the Waterfront Stage was in the swinging mode of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Trumpeter Kris Johnson’s group, an octet with tenor saxophone, two keyboards, electric bass and two percussionists, explored the leader’s odd-metered originals, which were filled with malleable textures and rhythmic grooves that kept you guessing.
ackson, who relocated to New York a couple years ago, is a mahogany-toned bassist with a strong pulse, even opened with an old Messengers’ tune from the early ’60s, “One By One.” It served as the introduction to his band of peers – baritone saxophonist Tony Lustig, trumpeter Anthony Stanco, trombonist Walter Harris, pianist Roy Assaf and drummer Jesse Kramer. Everyone sounded good, though no one really commanded attention with a distinctive personality, save the bassist.

Jackson’s original compositions also had an individual spark. “One For the Old Man,” based on a loping rhythm with a songful melody, made creative use of the horns in the ensemble. Jackson’s ballad “My Reflection” had similar qualities, with some nice flugelhorn work by Stanco and a deftly bowed solo by the leader. A medium up- tempo blues by Paul Chambers showcased Jackson’s fleet technique and sturdy bass lines and some good-natured call-and- response with Lustig’s animated baritone sax. When I left, the group had launched into an extended suite by Jackson that started in a Coltrane Quartet idiom.

Johnson’s octet played all original material by the leader. His writing places a big bet on slowly evolving, hummable melodies layered on top of churning rhythms that crest in waves. One song was in 11, another was in 17, another was in 21. If some of the rhythmic games bordered on intellectual exercises, Johnson mostly slipped the noose. Part of the secret was that he balanced the rhythmic complexities with simple melodic and harmonic materials rather than falling into the trap of overwriting. He also showed the ability to project his personality though the ensemble – the mark of a natural bandleader.

His patient trumpet solos, full of pensive expression, set the pace. Marcus Elliott’s busier tenor saxophone provided contrast, and the rest of the ensemble managed to have their say without leaving too much clutter around. Christina Manceor’s marimba added a unique color, and bassist Darell Campbell and the excellent drummer Nate Winn deserve credit for shaping the material with clarity and spontaneity despite the challenging meters. Jon Dixon and Mike Jellick were the keyboardists and Lauren Johnson the other percussionist.

Johnson, who spent several years traveling with Count Basie, won a 2012 Kresge Fellowship earlier this summer. The fact that he’s sticking around is good news. This is a band with a lot of promise. - Detroit Free Press

Kris Johnson
Posted: 10/14/2008

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.
http://www.jimcrowstears.com/
http://www.myspace.com/krisjohnsontrumpet
http://www.countbasieorchestra.com/

-Marcel Friday
Marcel@detroitfashionpages.com - Detroit Fashion Pages

By SHARON MacDONELL
Special to The Oakland Press

Two afternoons a week, the Berkley High School band room swings with some sophisticated jazz, thanks to the district’s new artist-in-residence program.

The artist is Kris Johnson, a Berkley resident who, at just 26, has already had an extensive career as a jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger.

“I feel very fortunate because he’s really an up-and-coming artist in the jazz world,” said Ryan Shaw, director of bands for the district’s Norup middle school and Berkley High School.

“He plays in the Count Basie Band, he got to play with Tony Bennett this year, and he just came back from Singapore. My kids and I are sort of star struck because of where he is in his career.”

Johnson is not new to the school setting though. He often teaches and writes educational jazz programs for schools.

“I love teaching as much as I love performing or writing,” Johnson said. “From the beginning, teaching has been a very important part of what I do.”

Johnson is directing a how-to lab on jazz improvisation for the students, which begs the question, is it possible to learn improvisation?

“Some people have a misconception that you can’t teach improvisation because they think you’re just making everything up,” Johnson said. “But there are only 12 notes in the musical language and really, you just organize those notes into different patterns. I’m teaching students how to group notes together, and improvisation comes with how you play those notes.”

On a recent Thursday, Johnson reviewed the scales used in both blues and Kansas City style jazz with the students. He demonstrated with his trumpet, on piano and by vocalizing jazz phrases, all of which the students mirrored back to him.

“We were singing the melody to Thelonious Monk’s “Blue Monk” and everybody was singing a different way, so in a sense, that’s improvisation — you know, putting your individual stamp on something that’s common,” Johnson said.

Thirteen-year-old trumpeter Zachary Schild is happy to spend extra hours in the band room, because he feels he’s learning something unique.

“Before, when I was improvising I used just the blues scale, that’s all I knew. But now I know the Kansas City scale and dominant seventh chords and that’s more ways to improvise, which is a lot better than just one single chord.”

Johnson believes music is an important medium teens use to communicate.

“When I was in high school I didn’t really know how to express myself until I started getting involved in music and figured out, ‘Wow, I have all these things that I want to say and I don’t really feel comfortable saying them, but when I get onstage and perform, everybody’s listening and I can do something with that.’ And that’s what I want to give to the students — an opportunity to express themselves and to have fun.”

It may be fun, but it’s not easy. Each of the students had to improvise solos multiple times during the class. But Johnson seems to know how to get the best out of them.

“I think the kids are able to let their hair down around him,” Shaw said. “They do stuff around him that they wouldn’t do around a lot of people. It might be a godsend that the class is small, because I think there’s an unspoken bond of ‘Wow, we don’t know how to do any of this, but we’re going to try it,’ because he’s asking them to.”

Sydney Oliva is learning to express herself musically in the class.

“I’m not usually an outspoken player because I’m not that great yet,” said the 14-year-old tenor saxophonist. “But I think it’s going pretty well, and I think I will take away a lot of confidence.”

For the next semester, Johnson will work with the schools’ full jazz bands. Shaw and Johnson hope to keep the harmonious arrangement going into the next school year, a plan the students in this class seem to find pitch perfect.

“I think it’s really cool that we have a professional helping us,” Sydney said. - Oakland Press

Tony Bennett records his first holiday CD in forty years since his 1968 release of “Snowfall, “ and this latest project, “Tony Bennett: A Swingin' Christmas Featuring The Count Basie Big Band' is destined to become an annual favorite of the season. Featuring 11 tracks, Tony swings such classics as “I'll Be Home for Christmas, “ “Winter Wonderland, “ “Santa Claus is Coming to Town, “ and the CD introduces his daughter, Antonia, who duets with Tony on “I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm."

Phil Ramone, who has worked with Bennett on several of his recent outings including the multi-platinum “Duets: An American Classic, “ produced the CD. Danny Bennett, Tony's son and manager, is Executive producer. The recording and mixing was handled by Bennett's son, Dae Bennett, owner of Bennett Studios. The CD will be available everywhere on October 14 on RPM Records/Columbia Records.

“TONY BENNETT: A SWINGIN' CHRISTMAS" was recorded live on the stage of Bergen Pac in Englewood, N.J., keeping with Bennett's mandate to embrace the live aspect of performing in the recording process. The Count Basie Orchestra joined Bennett for the sessions and jazz pianist Monty Alexander took on the role of Count Basie at piano. 2009 NEA Jazz Master recipient Toots Thielemans also makes a guest appearance on the recording. “TONY BENNETT: A SWINGIN' CHRISTMAS" is available in the following formats: CD, a deluxe CD/DVD fan edition featuring the recording of the album and a holiday card package including 10 holiday cards with artwork by Tony Bennett plus the CD, and a deluxe CD/DVD fan edition plus a bonus holiday card painted by Tony Bennett.

Tony Bennett is a 15-time Grammy winner and has two Emmy Awards to his credit. He is the founder of the NYC public arts high school, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, and has raised millions of dollar in support of arts education in the public school, through his organization, Exploring the Arts. An accomplished artist, he has for the past 15 years created a holiday image that has been presented in the American Cancer Society's Holiday Card Series, which raises money for cancer research. - www.allaboutjazz.com

When the Count passed in 1984, the jazz world lost one of its final remnants of the Big Band era. Could he have possibly imagined that 25 years later, an orchestra bearing his name would still be out there? Probably so, as he put the wheels in motion for The Count Basie Orchestra to live on long after his death. Still, it is an unusual experience to hear such a modern take on the music he had such a tremendous role in forming.

The history is important in relation to Swinging, Singing, Playing, because the subtitle of the record is The Count Basie Orchestra Salutes The Jazz Masters. The Orchestra’s reverence for the history of jazz is almost the entire point of this disc. I say almost, because there also happens to be some damned fine music contained here as well.

The opening track, “Too Close For Comfort,” is a case in point. The original 1956 version by Ella Fitzgerald was so indelible that it became something of a standard, covered by Sammy Davis Jr., and his buddy Frank Sinatra, no less. The Count Basie Orchestra’s version pulls in the brilliant Nnenna Freelon for vocals. Freelon was an excellent choice, as she is totally in her element singing against the prominent, and very swinging horns.

Janis Siegel (of The Manhattan Transfer) is probably the better-known vocalist on this set, and her three performances are outstanding. Her scat-singing on the Ella classic “Like Young” is sublime. Her other two appearances, “I Have Waited So Long,” and “Close Your Eyes” are first-rate too. The presence of the renowned pianist Hank Jones on “Close Your Eyes” may have been an additional inspiration for her.

Although Swinging, Singing, Playing is primarily a vocals-infused recording, there are some noteworthy instrumental performances as well. I am particularly fond of “Naiomi’s Blues” in this regard. James Leary opens the tune with some fine bass work, followed by (the unfortunately named) Tony Suggs’ piano, then the palpable trombone of Mr. Clarence Banks. A nice tune all around.

In this context, it is somewhat disconcerting to hear John Coltrane quoted a couple of times, but it was specific, and intentional. What is unsurprising is the fact that the best tune (for me at least), “Naiomi’s Blues” was written, and dedicated to Count Basie himself.

Smiling down from that Big Band In The Sky, I imagine that Count Basie would enjoy what his Orchestra is doing these days. - www.blogcritics.org