Emily Kuhn

Emily Kuhn is a jazz trumpet player based in Chicago, IL, described by the Chicago Jazz Magazine as having “a charismatic style and a sophistication that belies her youth.” Originally from Charlottesville, VA, Emily has made a name for herself as an active bandleader, sidewoman, composer, and educator since moving to Chicago in 2016. She released her debut album, Sky Stories, via BACE Records on October 30, 2020, to numerous accolades. She was named a Luminarts Fellow in Jazz in 2020, and received a nomination for “Best Jazz Musician” in the Chicago Reader’s 2020 end-of-year poll.

Emily’s nine-piece chamber jazz ensemble, Helios, features a string quartet in lieu of a single chordal instrument and incorporates sounds from folk, popular, and classical musical traditions. Outside of this band, Emily plays regularly with a wide variety of ensembles across the jazz and Latin scenes in Chicago, including Latin fusion band Son Monarcas, Kitt Lyles’ Real Talk Collective, Gustavo Cortiñas’ Kind Regards, Sam Pilnick’s Nonet Project, Erik Skov’s Liminality, John Dorhauer’s Heisenberg Uncertainty Players, and Thaddeus Tukes’ Chicago Freedom Ensemble. She is the band program director for MUSIC Inc., which provides music programming for students on the West Side of Chicago, and has taught throughout Chicago and nationwide through the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, and Stanford Jazz Workshop.

Emily has a BM and BA in Jazz Trumpet Performance and Environmental Studies from Oberlin, where she took part in the Double Degree program. She has studied with renowned trumpet players Eddie Henderson, Sean Jones, John D’earth, and John Henes.

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