Stephen Philip Harvey (1992) is an African American saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator.
As a musician and bandleader, Stephen has performed throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the United States. He leads his ensembles with a drive to explore a vast array of avenues in improvisation and composition.These ensembles include his chordless trio SPH+2, his electric quintet, Sphinx, his mid-sized jazz combo, the Stephen Philip Harvey Octet (SPH8), and his large ensemble the Stephen Philip Harvey Jazz Orchestra (SPHJO).
He has seven full album releases under his belt: Suite Childhood (2016, Self-Released) his jazz orchestra album, Smash! (2022, Next Level an imprint of Outside In Music), octet release Elemental (2023), eponymous quintet release, Sphinx (2023), debut trio release Library Card (2024), Elemental (Live) [2024], and Live at Radio Artifact (2024). The latter five recordings were released on Harvey’s label Hidden Cinema Records.
As a composer and arranger, Harvey funnels his eclectic musical background into his compositions, fusing Jazz and Classical with Popular, Funk, Hip-Hop, Rock, and Gospel. His compositions have been performed by an array of ensembles across the world; including the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, ensembles at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the University of North Texas, Vanderbilt University, the Eastman School of Music, New York University, the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Youngstown State University, Kent State University, Seton Hill University, and Westminster College. Stephen has also collaborated with avant-garde jazz artist Roscoe Mitchell, with his project Conversation for Orchestra, which has been performed by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the SEM Ensemble of Brooklyn, NY.
As an educator, Stephen has held instructional positions at all levels of education in diverse areas of music education. He's taught in environments such as summer camp, marching band, K-12 public school and postsecondary applied music and academic subjects. He additionally regularly gives clinics and appears as a guest artist, conductor, and composer-in-residence. He is currently employed by the Wicomico County Board of Education as a choir director at Wicomico High School, as an Applied Clarinet/Saxophone Instructor at Salisbury University, and as an online adjunct professor at Youngstown State University. He has previously taught at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as an adjunct instructor.
Stephen is an alumnus of Youngstown State University ('16, MM – Jazz Studies) and Seton Hill University ('14, BM – Music Education). He has studied composition and arranging under Ryan Truesdell, Dr. David Morgan, Dr. John Marcinizyn, and Dr. Ted DiSanti. He's had a wide array of performance studies under Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Dr. Kent Engelhardt, Dr. John Seybert, Eric DeFade, Lisa Thackrah (reeds), Dr. Alton Merrell, Theron Brown (jazz improv), and Curt Scheib (voice).
Stephen endorses P. Mauriat saxophones.
Quotes
“Stephen is an exceptional musician with a very bright future.”
“Harvey’s arrangements emphasize riffs and melodies over improvisation, though he certainly leaves room for his crew to express themselves when called upon. But his focus on tunes keeps the songs effervescent and accessible.”
“There’s a fine indiscipline to Harvey’s big band writing. Ominous horror-film riffs sit comfortably alongside soaring album-rock guitar solos, urgent, cop-show horn fanfares and creamy unison sax-section passages straight out of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra’s book. It’s a fridge-raid omelette of sounds held together by the audaciousness of Harvey’s conception and the joy with which his players bring it to life.”
“Sophisticated accessibility! When I listen to Stephen Harvey’s music, that’s what hear. Thoughtful construction of complex structures and orchestrations that take the listener on a beautiful sonic ride without speaking over their heads. A beautiful pairing of the complex and the elementary.”
Recent InterviewS
Downloads
Click here to download Stephen’s bio in PDF format.
Click here to download Stephen's CV in PDF format.