Karl Kohut is the Assistant Professor of Jazz Bass at the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba. Karl spent four years living in New York City, where he performed with many distinguished artists and organizations including Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Rossano Sportiello, Ralph Peterson Jr., among others. He has performed at many of New York’s top jazz clubs including Dizzy’s Club-Coca Cola, Blue Note, Smalls, Zinc Bar, and more. He has toured throughout the US and Europe as a member of Joseph Doubleday and Felix Peikli’s Showtime Band, culminating in the release of the group's 2017 album It's Showtime: Live!. As a sideman, Kohut appears on albums with artists such as James Danderfer, Brad Turner, Quincy Davis, Earl MacDonald, and the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. His debut album is set to be released in late 2023.

Kohut earned a master’s degree from The Juilliard School where he studied with bassists Ben Wolfe and Ron Carter, as well as a master’s and bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba. As an educator, he has worked with high school students throughout the US in workshops and summer programs with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Youth Programs.