The Arts Council Presents: Evenings of Intimate Jazz with Karla Harris

Jazz vocalist Karla Harris has made a career within the art form she loves for more than three decades, captivating audiences from Portland to Provence. Her performance credits include events such as the Sarasota Jazz Festival, Portland Jazz Festival, Oregon Coast Jazz Party, Nantucket Arts Festival, Siletz Bay Music Festival, Atlanta Jazz Party, 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.

Karla’s art lies not only in expansive vocals but also in tapping into the emotion of a tune and delivering it fully. Bringing dynamic diversity and sophisticated nuance to the music, she remains respectful of a song’s roots. “She lends her pulse to be a part of the heartbeat of the entire process, vocals and instrumentals,” writes AXS.com, “and the strange meandering force that lies between.” Critical Jazz says, “Rich, full-bodied and with a slight buttery finish, Karla Harris has mad skills – a vocal artist with impeccable phrasing and the innate gift to have the band play with and not around her.”

Of her live shows, WSIE Radio says Karla is “a powerful singer at ease in any setting, a singer for all seasons who makes any song memorable.” Clubscene writes, “Vocalist Karla Harris tends to take the stage by storm and doesn’t let go till it’s all over. … She engages us and makes us happy to be spending the evening with her.”

Karla is based in Atlanta, where she lives with her family and one sassy poodle.