Justin Kisor

I have been playing jazz trumpet professionally for 33 years. At 14 years of age, I began playing in a local dance band every weekend. With some amazing mentors, most notably my older brother Ryan, and of course recordings of a lot of great trumpet players to emulate, I progressed. In 1997, after being one of five high school musician to receive the international Clifford Brown/ Stan Getz award, I was given a full ride scholarship to the New School of Music in NYC. After a few semesters there, I freelanced around the New York City area until I was invited to audition for 1 of 4 trumpet chairs in the inaugural class of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School. Soon after graduation in 2004, I moved back to my home town for a while and after having my Son in 2007, auditioned for an open spot in the premier navy jazz ensemble, The Commodores in Washington, D.C.. After 4 years with that great band, I moved back to the Midwest once again where I’ve played and taught at local colleges, high schools, and privately.