Kris Monson is a versatile musician and double bassist in New York City. Kris has had the honor of working with many of the top musicians in the international jazz and contemporary music scenes, including Marc Cary, Tyshawn Sorey, Vince Mendoza, Veronica Swift, Charles Owens, and Ari Hoenig, and on stages including the Panama Jazz Festival, Providencia Jazz Festival in Santiago Chile, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Smalls Jazz Club, and Blues Alley.

photo: Katie Simbala

Current and recent projects include:

New album out now! Option to Extend, available on all streaming platforms

Suite for Charlottesville, a suite of original music written for jazz septet

Extensive touring and performing as a sideman with
- Marc Cary
- Charles Owens
- Joshua Espinoza
- Ryan Sands
- Matt Baker
- Mark G. Meadows

A passionate music educator, Kris teaches jazz and composition at the Manhattan School of Music summer program, music fundamentals at George Mason University, jazz history at Rutgers University OLLI, and has served as a graduate teaching fellow at the New England Conservatory for various classes in the jazz and music theory departments. Kris has also given master classes at schools around the country and maintains a select studio of private students.

As a researcher, Kris has presented at national and international conferences for the Jazz Education Network (JEN), the International Society of Bassists (ISB), and the College Music Society (CMS). His doctoral research contextualized and compared Jelly Roll Morton's published sheet music and extant manuscripts.

Kris has earned degrees from the New England Conservatory (DMA), Manhattan School of Music (MM), and the University of Virginia (BS Systems Engineering & Music). Major teachers include Buster Williams, Don Palma, and John D’earth.