About this Artist

Kris Bowers is an award-winning film composer and pianist known for his thought-provoking playing style and genre-defying film compositions that pay homage to his classical and jazz roots. Since gaining prominence through collaborating with musicians and artists across genres, including Jay Z, Kanye West, Kyle Abraham, chef Fredrik Berselius, Kobe Bryant, Mahershala Ali, Justin Simien, and Ava DuVernay, Bowers has composed music for film, television, documentaries, and video games. His works include The Snowy Day (for which he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition in 2017), Dear White People, Green Book, When They See Us, Black Monday, Madden NFL 20 and Madden NFL 21, Mrs. America, Bridgerton, Bad Hair, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Respect, and King Richard.

Bowers, an official Steinway Artist, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Fred Hersch, Eric Reed, and Kenny Barron. In 2011, Bowers won The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, receiving a recording contract with Concord Records and personal acknowledgment from special event honoree Aretha Franklin. In 2014, after he released his first album, Heroes + Misfits, iTunes named Bowers one of 12 “Artists to Watch.” In 2016, Bowers was selected to perform at the White House for International Jazz Day, hosted by President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama. Bowers, an avid collaborator, has created wholly unique experiences through performance art and installations with Abraham.In.Motion (led by choreographer Kyle Abraham), Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and artist and professor Ekene Ijeoma.