Christopher Burnett was born in Olathe, Kansas on November 2, 1955 and grew up in a military family that moved often before settling in the Kansas City area. He was exposed to music growing up as his mother introduced him to the piano and he was a member of the youth choir at his church. He took up saxophone and clarinet in his school band. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Music Program where he performed and pursued higher education, studying at the Armed Forces School of Music, Webster University, Missouri's Columbia…