Ryan Kisor
American musician
Ryan Kisor (born April 12, 1973) is an American jazz trumpeter.
A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Kisor learned trumpet from his father, Larry Kisor, and started playing in a local dance band (the Eddie Skeets Orchestra) at age ten. Kisor began classical trumpet lessons at age 12, met Clark Terry when he was 15 (attending his summer jazz camp), and played with all-star high school bands. In 1990, Kisor won the Thelonious Monk Institute's trumpet contest at the age of 17; Nicholas Payton and Marcus Printup were among the other contestants that year. His younger brother Justin Kisor is also an accomplished jazz artist (trumpet) who he has performed numerous concerts and had record releases with Kisor.
Following this he was signed by Columbia Records, who released his first two albums, 1992's Minor Mutiny and 1993's On the One. Following this, Kisor entered the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of Lew Soloff among others. He has played in New York with the Mingus Big Band and the Michel Camilo Big Band, with Gerry Mulligan, Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Horace Silver and Walter Blanding. Since 1994 he has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and has released many albums as a bandleader.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
1992?: Minor Mutiny (Columbia, 1992)
1993?: On the One (Columbia, 1993)
1997: Battle Cry (Criss Cross Jazz, 1998)
1998: The Usual Suspects (Fable/Lightyear, 1998)
1998: Point of Arrival (Criss Cross Jazz, 2000)
1999: Power Source (Criss Cross Jazz, 2001)
1999: Kisor (Videoarts, 2000)
2000: Kisor II (Videoarts, 2001)
2001: The Dream (Criss Cross Jazz, 2001)
2002: The Sidewinder (Videoarts, 2003)
2002: Awakening (Criss Cross, 2003)
2003: Donna Lee (Videoarts, 2004)
2004: The Uptown Quintet, Live in New York (Cellar Live, 2005) – live recorded at Smoke (jazz club)
2005: Ryan Kisor Quintet, This Is Ryan (Videoarts, 2005)
2006: Jam Session Volume 25 with Marcus Printup, Joe Magnarelli (SteepleChase, 2008)
2006: One Finger Snap (Videoarts, 2006)
2007: Conception: Cool and Hot (Birds, 2008)
2008: Ryan Kisor Quintet, Live at Smalls (SmallsLIVE, 2010) – live recorded at Smalls Jazz Club
As a member
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Blood on the Fields (Columbia, 1997)
Live in Swing City, Swingin' with Duke (Columbia, 1999) – live
Big Train (Columbia, 1999)
Essentially Ellington 2000 (Warner Bros., 2000)
Plays the Music of Duke Ellington (Brooks Brothers, 2004)
A Love Supreme (Palmetto, 2004)
Don't Be Afraid...The Music of Charles Mingus (Palmetto, 2005)
Vitoria Suite (EmArcy, 2010)
Portrait in Seven Shades (Jazz at Lincoln Center, 2010)
The Abyssinian Mass (Blue Engine, 2016)
The Music of John Lewis (Blue Engine, 2017)
The Music of Wayne Shorter (Blue Engine, 2020)
The Manhattan Jazz Orchestra
Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Sweet Basil, 1992)
A Night in Tunisia (Sweet Basil, 1993)
Get It On (Sweet Basil, 1995)
Paint It Black (Sweet Basil, 1996)
Black Magic Woman (Sweet Basil, 1997)
Hey Duke!
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ryan Kisor” as american musician. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american musician. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2178068. VIAF identifies the subject as 17414345. The Library of Congress control number is nr97001894. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1973, 1990, 1992 and 1993.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ryan Kisor”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ryan Kisor primary sources, Ryan Kisor archive and Ryan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ryan Kisor”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ryan Kisor” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.