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Stefon Harris
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as "one of the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career.
Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike, the 30 year-old is committed to both exploring the rich potential of jazz composition and blazing new trails on the vibraphone.
A graduate of The Manhattan School of Music, he received a B.A. in Classical Music and an M.A. in jazz performance. Stefon is a recipient of the prestigious Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and has earned back to back to back Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Album including The Grand Unification Theory (2003), the 2001 release of Kindred (Blue Note) and his 1999 release of Black Action Figure (Blue Note) for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. North Sea Jazz (Netherlands) named Harris for the prestigious International 2002 Bird Award for Artist Deserving Wider Recognition. He has been voted Best Mallet player by the Jazz Journalist Association (2003, 2002, 2001 and 2000), Debut Artist of the Year by Jazztimes, Downbeat's Critics Poll Winner for Vibraphone and Rising Star, Vibraphone (2003) Newsweek's Best Jazz CD, Best New Talent and 1999-2000 Readers Poll Best Vibraphonist by Jazziz Magazine and Chicago Tribune's Debut of the Year.
Mr. Harris has performed at many of the world's most distinguished concert halls, including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The Kennedy Center, San Francisco's Herbst Theater, UCLA's Royce Hall, Chicago's Symphony Center, Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and The Sydney Opera House. He has toured and recorded with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and performed his original compositions with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra in Den Hague. He has toured South Africa, Brazil and Europe performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival and the Umbria Jazz Festival, among others.
In 2001 he premiered "The Grand Unification Theory" — a full length concert piece commissioned by The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall which was later presented at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He has also appeared at the legendary Playboy Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Most recently Mr. Harris received a commission from The Wharton Center for Performing Arts, Michigan State University which will debut in 2005.
An active educator Mr. Harris conducts over 100 clinics and lectures annually at schools and universities throughout the country. He is currently Artist in Residence at San Francisco Performances and in 2002 at The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. In addition he has been an active member of the Executive Board of Directors for Chamber Music America
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T.K. Blue: The Tide of Love
by Pierre Giroux
T.K. Blue is an artist who is proficient on both the alto saxophone and flute; he has released a striking album entitled The Tide of Love that offers a diverse and engaging musical journey through various genres of the jazz spectrum. In this session, he is accompanied by several superb musicians, including Grammy-nominated Stefon Harris on vibes, along with pianist James Weidman, bassist Gavin Fallow, drummer Lenny Robinson and guitarist Ron Jackson. The group recorded an album of creativity, originality, ...
read moreChristian Sands: Christmas Stories
by Dave Linn
Early on, Christian Sands had a passion for music. He was enrolled in music classes at age four and wrote his first composition at age five. He started playing professionally at the age of ten and studied at the Center for the Arts in New Haven, Connecticut before receiving his Bachelor of Arts and Masters degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. A protégé of Dr. Billy Taylor, Sands released his debut album at the age of 12 and came ...
read moreJotting Down the Notes / The Arrangers: Part 1
by Monk Rowe
In the early days of jazz, musicians engaged in group improvisations, creating arrangements on the fly. As bands became larger, the writing down of parts for individual players became a requirement. Present and past jazz arrangers including Stefon Harris, Michael Abene, Ray Conniff, Bill Holman, and Frank Foster speak about their craft. ...
read moreUlysses Owens Jr. Big Band: Soul Conversations
by Jack Bowers
Drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.'s Big Band comes out swinging on its debut recording, Soul Conversations, thundering through Michael Dease's incendiary arrangement of the Dizzy Gillespie/John Lewis flame-thrower, “Two Bass Hit." For more such heat, however, the listener must move forward to Track 5, John Coltrane's impulsive “Giant Steps," thence to Track 9 for Charles Turner III's earnest homage to “Harlem Harlem Harlem," on which he doubles as vocalist. That's not to say that everything in between is ...
read moreStefon Harris: Sonic Creed
by Angelo Leonardi
A distanza di un decennio dalla pubblicazione di Urbanus -l'ultimo disco di Stefon Harris con l'ensemble Blackout -sono cambiate molte cose nel mondo del vibrafono jazz: nel 2016 è scomparso Bobby Hutcherson, l'anno successivo Gary Burton s'è ritirato dalla scena attiva e Mike Mainieri, che ha superato gli ottant'anni, ha ridotto l'attività. Lo scettro del miglior vibrafonista mainstream è ora in mano ad Harris, che non a caso vince regolarmente i referendum internazionali di pubblico e critica.
read moreStefon Harris: The Tradition of Jazz
by Kevin Press
Twenty-two years into his career, Albany, New York's Stefon Harris has fronted seven Blue Note LPs, served as co-lead on two others and recorded with a host of greats including Joshua Redman, Ry Cooder, Courtney Pine and Christian Scott. Because that's not enough for the 45-year-old, he's also a successful educator, public speaker, entrepreneur and an eloquent interview. He and I spoke last week about his upcoming Blackout album, Sonic Creed. All About Jazz: “Dat Dere," ...
read moreStefon Harris & Joe Locke: Vibes Away!
by Doug Collette
Within the realm of modern jazz, the vibraphone has long enticed unusually imaginative musicians to explore the possibilities of the instrument. Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson and Gary Burton have essentially reinvented the vibes for successive generations, while Warren Wolf and Yuhan Su, among others, continue to reconfigure its appeal to entice contemporary audiences. Respective studio works of Stefon Harris and Joe Locke demonstrate how each may also be rightfully numbered among the modern visionaries of the vibes, the records also ...
read moreJazz Musician of the Day: Stefon Harris
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Stefon Harris' birthday today!
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career. Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike, the 30 year-old is committed to both ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Stefon Harris
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Stefon Harris' birthday today!
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career. Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike, the 30 year-old is committed to both ...
read more
New Jersey Performing Arts Center Presents Free 2022 Bethany Vespers Concert Series
Source:
AMT Public Relations
Saturday, February 5 | 6:00PMStefon Harris This event turned virtual. Watch “His music needs no labels like ‘postmodern’ or ‘cutting edge’. It is Stefon Harris music, as Charles Mingus, he insisted, was Mingus music.” —Nat Hentoff, Jazz Times Magazine Educator. Vibraphonist and Composer, Stefon Harris has been heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz” by The Los Angeles Times. A four-time GRAMMY nominee, he is a seven-time Best Mallet player by the Jazz Journalist Association, the ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Stefon Harris
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Stefon Harris' birthday today!
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career. Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike, the 30 year-old is committed to both ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Stefon Harris
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Stefon Harris' birthday today!
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career. Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike, the 30 year-old is committed to both ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Stefon Harris
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Stefon Harris' birthday today!
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career. Stefon Harris\' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike... Read more.
Place our Musician of the ...
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All About Jazz Top 10 Tracks: October 2018
Source:
All About Jazz
All About Jazz features a free song every day spanning all genres of jazz, and of the 30 tracks featured in October, these ten represent our personal favorites. We also included the top ten reader favorites as indicated by total listens. Musicians and record labels can submit full length MP3s for consideration here. Enjoy! EDITOR'S PICKS Lost Justin Kauflin From: Coming Home 05:21 Love Dance Ran Blake From: Streaming
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Stefon Harris and Blackout's "Sonic Creed"
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring vibraphonist Stefon Harris, who's coming to St. Louis to perform starting next Wednesday, October 31 and continuing through Sunday, November 4 at Jazz St. Louis. Considered one of the top mallet percussionists in jazz, Harris has played here several times in the last few years, most recently as the guest artist with Jazz St. Louis' JazzU student ensemble in June, 2016 at the Bistro. This time, though, he's got a ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Stefon Harris
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Stefon Harris' birthday today!
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career. Stefon Harris\' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike... Read more.
Place our Musician of the ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Stefon Harris
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Stefon Harris' birthday today!
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career. Stefon Harris\' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike... Read more.
Place our Musician of the ...
read more
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Stefon Harris
Instrument: Vibraphone
Born: March 23, 1973
