About Kevin Harris
About Kevin Harris
His Music
A distinctive trait of internationally acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, and educator Kevin Harris, a YAMAHA artist, is his desire to constantly grow, evolve, improve, and advance.
His creative practice places music in conversation with traditional and contemporary music styles, visual arts, electronic media, science, social history, and language. It is what distinguishes his music and what renders his performances unique experiences, meant to activate the audience’s senses and personal curiosity.
"Participation,” Harris says, "is what keeps our souls alive.” Both live and recorded performances reflect Harris’s determination to capture his audience through explorative interactions that Terri Lyne Carrington describes as "an exciting commitment to quality."
Harris’ music education has its foundation in the degrees he has received, but equally importantly in Black Gospel and Afro-Caribbean styles of music. He possesses the unique ability to compose complex, uplifting, tempestuous, and deeply stimulating notes.
For him, “music is not simply a performance to be observed but a shared act of discovery—a conversation between composer and performer, performer and audience, history and the present, structure and spontaneity”.
Whether seated alone at the piano, collaborating with fellow improvisers, or composing for large ensembles, he approaches each project with the belief that attentive listening is among the most creative acts we can practice.
Fred Hersch talks of Harris as one who “plays and writes with flair and real soul" and DownBeat Magazine writes that “Harris' compositions deal with themes of strength, love, courage, and self- awareness. It's a heavy task he's set up for himself, and he meets the challenge gracefully.”
Notable Collaborations
Throughout his career he has collaborated with leading artists across jazz and notated concert music, including Terri Lyne Carrington, Fred Hersch, Dayna Stephens, Jazzmeia Horn, Jason Palmer, Greg Osby, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Avishai Cohen, Delfeayo Marsalis, Rufus Reid, Brandy Younger, Nina Schumann, Zoran Markovic, José García Gutiérrez, Dwight Parry, Bram van Sambeek, YaoGuang Zhai, and Xandi van Dijk.
Beyond performance, composition, and teaching, Harris remains deeply committed to service within the artistic community. He serves on the boards of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers (ISJAC), the New England Conservatory Alumni Council, and Berklee Soundboard, contributing to initiatives that support future generations of musicians and composers.
Harris performs at renowned national and international venues
Among his recurring International and national performances are venues such as the Blue Note (NYC, Beijing, Milan, and Boston), New York’s Smalls and Mezzrow, Copenhagen’s JazzHus Montmartre-Denmark, Perugia Jazz Festival-Italy, Lima Jazz Festival-Peru, Boston Wally’s Jazz Club-USA, Havana Jazz Festival-Cuba, Panama Jazz Festival - Panama, Catania Jazz-Italy, to name a few.
His Compositions
(More info at Projects page)
As a composer, Harris has created interdisciplinary works that engage history, philosophy, and cultural identity.
His symphonic work, "Resonance: A Contemporary Symphonic Reflection Through the Courageous Lens of Steve Biko” premiered at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival, brought together orchestral performance, improvisation, and spoken narrative to reflect on the enduring ideas of Black Consciousness.
Another of Harris' most innovative projects is “Roots, Water and Sunlight: A Contemporary Octet Expedition through the Expressions of James Baldwin," bringing Baldwin’s writings into dialogue with original music and electronic media.
“Pulse”, is a compelling through-composed chamber work combining improvised and fully notated music for oboe, violins, cello, acoustic bass, and piano.
As an Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Neighborhood Salon Luminary, he released a solo piano work entitled "Doorways" at Calderwood Hall in the Gardner Museum.
With his “Griot Series”, Harris asks his audience to broaden their perception on the key role of music and words.
The collaborative project with trumpeter Jason Palmer, “Upward Mothers”, aims to bring awareness about mothers who have lost children to senseless acts of violence.
His Albums
(More info at Music page)
As a leader, Harris has released seven albums, with his latest, “Vitruvian Echoes”, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s interdisciplinary vision. Scott Haas’ review defines Harris’ music as “a balance of freedom and structure”.
For “Embers,” Steve Elman’s review quotes: “Harris stands on the shoulders of the masters, adds a singular personal voice, and has recruited strongly individualistic players to give his music definitive interpretation.”
Harris appears on several colleagues’ works such as "Shorter Songs", released by SteepleChase Records, celebrating the artistry of Wayne Shorter.
Whether seated alone at the piano, collaborating with fellow improvisers, or composing for large ensembles, he approaches each project with the belief that attentive listening is among the most creative acts we can practice.
Educator
Harris is in demand as a clinician, lecturer, and guest artist, consistently collaborating with both public and private organizations nationally and internationally. (See: Educational Programs page)
He is currently on the faculty at Berklee College of Music where he teaches private piano and coaches ensembles. Additionally, he is part of Berklee's Mentoring Program, and he has established Berklee’s Piano Club that he currently curates and organizes.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly...
Across every dimension of his career, Kevin Harris asks the continued question: “How can music invite us into deeper ways of listening—to one another, to history, to ourselves, and to the possibilities we have yet to imagine?”
His answer is in his music, the invitation to participate, to discover, and to experience music not as a finished statement, but as an ongoing conversation.
"Participation,” he says, "is what keeps our souls alive."
EPK
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