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STEFON HARRIS AND HIS GROUP TO PERFORM FOR WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY'S JAZZ ROOM SERIES Vibraphonist Stefon Harris brings his group to William Paterson University in Wayne on Sunday, February 11 as part of the Winter 2001 Jazz Room Series. Harris will perform with pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Tarus Mateen, and drummer Terreon Gully. The concert will begin at 4 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on the campus in Wayne. Tickets are available in advance or on the day of the performance at $12 standard; $9 for senior citizens, non-William Paterson students and William Paterson faculty, staff and alumni. William Paterson students may attend free of charge. Harris was born in Albany, New York and began his musical career as a classically trained percussionist. After winning the Empire State Youth Orchestra's concerto competition following his first year of study, Harris received a full scholarship to tour Europe as the ensemble's featured artist. He performed with the Albany and Berkshire Symphonies and the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, and then attended the Eastman School of Music on a full merit scholarship. When his roommate played a Charlie Parker record for him, he discovered a passion for jazz. He moved to New York City and immersed himself in the jazz scene while completing his bachelor's degree in classical percussion at the Manhattan School of Music. Along the way, he premiered the Mattus concerto for percussion under the direction of Kurt Masur. In 1997, he received his master's in jazz performance from the Manhattan School of Music. With the release of his debut recording, "A Cloud of Red Dust," in 1998, Harris was named debut artist of the year by Jazz Times, Jazziz, Downbeat, and the New York Jazz Awards. His follow-up CD, "Black Action Figure," was nominated for a Grammy Award for best solo instrumental. Harris won awards for "best vibes" from the Jazziz Magazine Reader's Poll 2000 and the Jazz Journalists' Awards 2000. He has performed on "Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live, and CNN Showbiz. He is the 1997 recipient of the prestigious Martin Segal Award from Lincoln Center, given to outstanding young artists. Stefon Harris and his group will be the guests for "Sittin' In," an informal discussion with the artists presented before the concert. The talk begins at 3 p.m. in room 101 of Shea Center. Admission is free to all Jazz Room ticketholders. Launched in the spring of 1978, William Paterson's Jazz Room Series has earned a reputation for presenting concerts by eminent musicians in the jazz world. The series has been awarded numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and Citations of Excellence from the Council for its cultural contribution to the state. For additional information, please call William Paterson's Shea Center Box Office at 973-720-2371. William Paterson University, one of the
nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 30
undergraduate and 18 graduate programs through five colleges:
Arts and Communication, Business, Education, Humanities and
Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop
acres in Wayne, the university enrolls approximately 10,000 students
and provides housing for nearly 2,300 students. The institution's
358 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars
and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards
and grants from the Fulbright Program (25 scholars), the Guggenheim
Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National
Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the
American Philosophical Society.
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