Vandy Harris
Woodwinds, Composer
Harris grew up in Chicago and launched his career in a sextet led by saxophonist Joseph Jarman, later a founder of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. He was a longtime member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, playing in AACM founder Muhal Richard Abrams' Experimental Ensemble and other groups that grew out of the avant-garde collective. Harris led several groups, including a big band, the Obade Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and the Frontburners. He also toured with organist Jack MacDuff and played with saxophonist Anthony Braxton, trumpeter Woody Shaw, drummer Elvin Jones, and the blues giants Muddy Waters and Bobby "Blue" Bland, among others.
