Bio

I was born on March 9, 1979 in Fresno, California, to Floyd and Annette Harris. I showed an interest in music at an early age and by my 5th birthday I was playing the guitar in the church I attended. At age 6, I began taking piano lessons, and at age 9, during my 4th grade year, I started playing the saxophone. I was introduced to Latin Jazz while attending Roosevelt High School where I played the lead alto in the school’s Latin Jazz Band. I also played the piano in the Fresno City College Latin Jazz Band. During my high school years, I auditioned and was chosen to play in various honor bands, and while attending Bullard High School, I was the featured Saxophonist at one of Bullard’s appearances at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Upon graduation from high school, I received a number of scholarships which enabled me to pursue my dream of attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. I continued to hone my skills on the saxophone while broadening my understanding of music. I was the lead Saxophonist in the Berklee College Female Big Band and played in various venues in Boston, New Hampshire, New York and Maine. I graduated from Berklee in 2001 with a Bachelor of Music with a major in Performance. My love of music and musical performance did not diminish. After my graduation from Berklee, I returned home to Fresno, California to start a smooth jazz band with my brother Michael Harris. Getting started was not easy, we would go to local clubs and ask if we could play at no cost to the club, but was turned down repeatedly. The “No Thank You” responses did not discourage me. I became more determined than ever and continued to master my saxophone and develop my own sound. I have played in a number of Jazz Festivals, including the “The Hollywood Park Jazz Festival”, “The Inglewood Jazz Festival”, “The San Diego Street Festival”, the “Riverbend Jazz Festival”, the “China Town Jazz Festival” and the “African Village Festival”. I've opened for and/or played with the following smooth jazz greats; The Rippingtons; Eric Marienthal; Kirk Whalum; Eloise Laws; Denise William; Phil Perry; Howard Huit; Andre Fischer; Everette Harp; Paul Jackson Jr.; Veretta Hathaway; Debra Laws; Najee; Michael Ward; and Will Barrow. I released my first CD, “Here and There” on the J&M Record label. Her second CD, “Jeanette Harris Live at Platinum Live”, “Down Route 99” and my newest release “Reflections”. If you like good music, you will enjoy these CD’s. Visit: [link="http://www.othersite.com"] www.myspace.com/jeanetteharris [/link] [link="http://www.othersite.com"] www.jeanetteharrisband.com [/link][b]