In 1979, at the age of nineteen, NEA Jazz Master Donald Harrison created his first multi-genre musical idea with a modern jazz take on the New Orleans second-linetradition, fusing it with modern NY jazz on his composition "New York Second-Line.”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, herecorded hits in the smooth jazz genre and pioneered the fully fledged multi-genre concept on his recording “3D," when he composed, produced, and recorded three different versions of the same songs in three different styles of music on three separate discs. He began exploring music through the lens of quantum physics in 2000, using quantum jazz to move music from a two-dimensional state to a four-dimensional state. In the HBO drama Treme, Emmy-winning director David Simon created twocharacters to portray how Harrison originated new musical styles. Harrison himself appeared in nine episodes of the series, as well as in Oscar-winning director Jonathon Demme’s Rachel Getting Married, alongside Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway. He appeared as himself in Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke and Marvel’s Luke Cage. He is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture and was chiefed in 2019 by Queen Diambi Kabatusuila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. He has performed with over 200 jazz masters and created three influential jazz styles. He refined his skills 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, andhas been a mentor to artists as diverse as Jonathon Batiste, Chief Xian Atunde’ Adjuah, Trombone Shorty, and Esperanza Spaulding. In 2022, he received the prestigious NEA Jazz Master Award, and in 2026, he was awarded a Jazz Fellowship alongsid ejazz legends Gary Bartz, Charles McPherson, Buster Williams, Kenny Barron, BennieMaupin, Mary Stallings, Oliver Lake, and Archie Shepp.
