Karla Harris

Jazz vocalist Karla Harris has captivated audiences at events such as the Sarasota Jazz Festival, Greenville Jazz Festival, Portland Jazz Festival, Oregon Coast Jazz Party, Nantucket Arts Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival, and a TED Talk. She has performed for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Arts Across America live performance series, and in 2022 was awarded a distinguished Jazz Road grant through the South Arts foundation. In addition to performing, she is a songwriter and educator. In 2024 she was named a recipient of Atlanta Magazine’s “Women Making a Mark” award in recognition of her jazz outreach and education programs. Harris is a member of the Kennesaw State University Jazz Studies faculty, teaching applied vocal jazz to aspiring young singers passionate about this uniquely American art form. 
 
Harris’s music, a nuanced blend of straight-ahead and contemporary jazz, is heard worldwide. Critics acclaimed her 2015 album, “Karla Harris Sings the Dave and Iola Brubeck Songbook,” calling it “a work of sheer elegance.” Greenlighted by the Brubeck estate, the project stands as the first studio recording dedicated to vocal versions of several Brubeck compositions with lyrics by his wife, Iola. Harris’ 2019 release, “Certain Elements,” reached #44 on the prestigious Jazz Week chart.

Karla Harris - vocals
Tyrone Jackson - piano
Bernard Terry - bass
Kevin Giannino - drums