Originally from San Jose, CA, Ben Harris attends the University of Oregon, where he received his Bachelor’s of Jazz Studies in 2023. While at the university Ben has studied with Idit Shner, Steve Owen, Joe Manis, and Keith Brown, as well as Jacqueline Cordova-Arrington on flute. As a member of the Oregon Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Arts Oregon, UO’s top large ensemble and combo respectively, Ben has been fortunate to perform alongside Omar Thomas and Braxton Cook, among others.

Ben returned to the University of Oregon in the fall of 2023 as a graduate employee, fulfilling teaching duties in the jazz department while earning a Master’s in Jazz Studies. In the winter of 2024 Ben was invited to compete in the North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Competition during NASA’s biennial national conference. After competing live in Stillwater, Oklahoma against college students across North America, Ben placed as a semi-finalist. Later that summer of 2024 Ben was invited to the Carinthian International Jazz Award, a worldwide competition drawing from saxophonists under the age of 26. After competing live in Arnoldstein, Austria, Ben was awarded second place.