Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz” (The Los Angeles Times). His career is shaping up to be long and remarkable. Stefon Harris’ passion for music, energy and virtuosity has propelled him to the top of the jazz scene. The 30-year-old Stefon Harris is widely acclaimed and praised by jazz critics and his peers. He is dedicated to exploring the rich potential of jazz composition as well as blazing new trails with the vibraphone. He graduated from The Manhattan School of Music with a Bachelor of Arts. He holds a B.A. in Classical Music and an M.A. in jazz performance. Stefon has been awarded the Martin E. Segal Award at Lincoln Center. He also received back-to-back Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Album, Kindred (Blue Note), and Black Action Figure (Blue Note), for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. North Sea Jazz (Netherlands), named Harris the International 2002 Bird Award for Artists Deserving Wider Recognition. He was voted Jazz Journalist Association’s Best Mallet Player (2003, 2002 2001, and 2000), Jazztimes’ Debut Artist of The Year, Downbeat’s Critics Poll Winner and Rising Star for Vibraphone, Vibraphone (2003) Newsweek’s Best Jazz CD, Best new talent, and Jazziz Magazine’s 1999-2000 Readers Poll best vibraphonist. He has appeared at some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world, including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The Kennedy Center, San Francisco’s Herbst Theater and UCLA’s Royce Hall are some of his venues. He has performed original compositions in concert with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra in Den Hague and recorded and toured with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has performed at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Umbria, Istanbul Jazz Festival, and South Africa’s North Sea Jazz Festival. He premiered “The Grand Unification Theory”, a concert piece that was commissioned by The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. It was later performed at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He has also performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Montreal Jazz Festival, and the Playboy Jazz Festival. Recently, Harris was awarded a commission by The Wharton Center for Performing Arts at Michigan State University. This commission will be in 2005. Harris is an active educator and conducts more than 100 clinics annually at universities and schools across the country. He is currently Artist In Residence at San Francisco Performances, and 2002 at The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum. He has also been an active member on the Executive Board for Chamber Music America “Blackout.” Stefon’s latest project, which combines acoustic and progressive music, debuted its CD Evolution in April 2004. It then embarked upon a national tour. The band includes Terreon Gully (alto sax), Marc Cary, Darryl Hall (bass), and Marc Cary (alto sax). They have performed at sold-out venues such as The Kennedy Center and North Sea Jazz Festival. The 2003 release of The Grand Unification Theory, an eleven-movement piece that combines Latin, Classical and African influences, earned him a Grammy nomination and JAZZIZ Critics choice. His 2001 CD Kindred received 4 star reviews from Downbeat Magazine and Rolling Stone. This was his second Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Album. The quartet recording he did with Jacky Terrasson Kindred, the noted pianist, is a sequel to his second album Black Action Figure (Blue Note Records), which was also nominated in the Grammy category for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. A Cloud of Red Dust was his debut as a leader and won the Best Debut Recording award at the 1999 New York Jazz Awards. He has also recorded with The Classical Jazz Quartet. This group of jazz musicians interprets classics with Kenny Barron and Ron Carter. He has recorded and toured with some of the most important musicians in music, such as Joe Henderson, Wynton Maralis, Cassandra Wilson and Buster Williams. from http://www.allaboutjazz.com
