Charcoal Blues by Walter Blanding

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.