Biography

Adam Harris is an Oregon-based jazz saxophonist, composer and music educator. Over the last decade, he has established a reputation for himself as a powerful voice in the Pacific Northwest music scene.

In 2006, he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he studied with many of the area's most well known jazz musicians including legendary trombonist Julian Priester, Jovino Santos Neto, Jay Thomas and Jim Knapp.

In 2011, Adam graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he earned a Master of Music degree. While in Boston, he studied with many critically acclaimed artists including Donny McCaslin, Miguel Zenon, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Billy Hart and Cecil McBee.

His first album as a leader, “The Adam Harris Quintet - Live at the Jazz Station”, was released in 2014 and features the internationally celebrated pianist George Colligan.

In 2015, Adam received a Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Western Oregon University and proceeded to teach music at the middle and high school level in Washington State for several years.

In addition to maintaining a busy teaching schedule, Adam also performs professionally on a regular basis throughout the west coast. Over the past several years, he has shared the stage with some of the world's most famous jazz musicians, including Wynton Marsalis, Dave Holland, Randy Brecker and Joshua Redman.

In 2022, Adam accepted a full-time teaching position at Western Oregon University as their Director of Jazz Education and Saxophone Professor.

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In 2023, he became the new artistic director for Swing Shift - a professional jazz orchestra based in Eugene, OR.