Christopher Collins

Christopher Collins is president and artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation. He is focused on creating unique international and regional programming, powerful educational initiatives, long-term financial stability, creative technology, global collaborations, and a festival that annually welcomes more than 325,000 jazz lovers from around the world.

An active jazz artist and Valade Chair in Jazz at Wayne State University, Collins has performed at worldwide jazz festivals in Glasgow, Ireland, Panama, Nice and Switzerland — and won numerous awards, including the first American to receive the Brusoni Award in Italy in 2011. In addition to his work on commercial recordings and film soundtracks, including the soundtrack for the award-winning film “The Big Night,” and television series “Leverage” and “The Librarian,” Collins’ jazz solo work can be heard on numerous albums.

He has presented numerous workshops and residencies around the world including the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Italy, Berklee Global Jazz Institute, South Africa, and at national conferences on topics including art and culture, jazz saxophone/improvisation, world music influences, and distance education.