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Donald Harrison

Donald Harrison is an NEA Jazz Master

New Orleans born saxophonist Donald Harrison is a musician/composer who master musicians consider a master of every era of jazz, soul, funk, and a composer of orchestral classical music. He is also a genius, according to geniuses like Eddie Palmieri and Mike Clark. In the HBO drama Treme, Emmy winning director David Simon created two characters to portray how Harrison innovated new styles of music. Harrison has appeared as an actor/musician in 9 episodes of Treme, Oscar-winning director Johnathon Demme’s film Rachel Getting Married, Spike Lee’s When The Levee’s Broke documentary, and Marvel’s Luke Cage. This talented artist is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture and was made a Chief in 2019 by Queen Diambi Kabatusuila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa.

Harrison honed his experience playing with Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Eddie Palmieri, Dr. John, Lena Horne, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Chuck Loeb, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Digable Planets, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, The Headhunters, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Notorious BIG. He has performed with over 200 jazz masters and created three influential styles of jazz. At the age of nineteen, Harrison created a modern jazz take on the New Orleans second-line tradition and introduced his composition New York Second-Line to the jazz world in 1979. By the mid-’80s, he created Nouveau Swing, a distinctive sound that blended the swing beat of modern jazz with hip-hop, funk, and soul music. In the ’90s, Harrison recorded hits in the smooth jazz genre. He began exploring music through the lens of quantum physics in 2000. With quantum jazz, Harrison heard how to move music from a two-dimensional state into a four-dimensional state. Harrison has been a mentor to artist as diverse as The Notorious Big, Jonathon Batiste, Christian Scott, Trombone Shorty, and Esperanza Spaulding.  

In 2020 look for Harrison performing Charlie Parker with strings in tribute to his centennial. He is composing orchestral classical music for upcoming premiers and adding hip-hop/jazz to his multi-genre recordings and performances.


Awards

2007 Jazziz Magazine Person of the Year

2007 Arts Council of New Orleans Community Arts Award Recipient

2008 Big Easy Music Awards Ambassador of Music
 

 

Gear

Donald Harrison is an International Woodwind Artist
http://www.internationalwoodwind.com/


Tags

"Donald Harrison is one of the most confident and convincing improvisers in jazz today." —All About Jazz

"The satisfied audience’s screaming ovation says it all." —All About Jazz

"...one of the best jazz sax men playing today." —Smoothjazz.com

"...alto saxophonist Harrison has become a seasoned veteran and respected bandleader-talent scout..." —JazzTimes

"...altoist’s creativity is commanding." —All About Jazz

Joe Dyson
drums

Photos

Album Discography

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Mardi Gras Day

Eleven Music Experience
2023

buy

Witness To History

Smoke Sessions Records
2023

buy

Blues & Hues New...

Webberworks Entertainment Group
2021

buy

Shuffle and Deal

Smoke Sessions Records
2020

buy

Was Out Jazz Zone Mad

Ropeadope Records
2018

buy

Mardi Gras Day

From: Mardi Gras Day
By Donald Harrison

Twerk It

From: The Survivor
By Donald Harrison

Videos

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