Kris Funn & CornerStore (Sets at 7:00 & 8:30 PM)

“CornerStore runs on the chemistry between Funn and guitarist John Lee, which burns like diesel. The two string players lock into each other’s frequency, which mostly comprises groove and attitude, and turn the result into an exclamation-point-riddled dialogue,” says Washington Post writer Mike West.

Kristopher Funn was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He began playing the trumpet at age four and took up the double bass at age 14 upon entering high school. Through the instruction of his father, Charles Funn, Kristopher performed his first professional bass gig the same year he began learning the instrument. Other early accomplishments included winning the “unsung hero” at the Fish Middleton jazz competition at the East Coast Jazz festival also in the first year of instruction. At age 18, Kristopher attended Howard University to study Computer Science while also performing in the Howard University Jazz Ensemble for two years.

After graduating with an honors degree in computer science, Kristopher decided to pursue a career as a professional jazz musician, performing in several venues in the Baltimore Washington metropolitan areas. At age 23, Kristopher began touring internationally with alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett. Since then, he has traveled to every major jazz festival in the world touching six continents performing with artists including Bruce Williams, Nicholas Payton, Pharoah Sanders, Jeff Majors, Jeff Lorber, and many others. Kristopher has appeared on several recordings including the Christian Scott albums, “Yesterday You Said Tomorrow” and Christian aTunde Adjuah on the Concord Jazz label. He continues to perform professionally in the Washington D.C. area while touring with the Christian Scott Quintet.