“...A legend...” – Robert Glasper
“...the best...” – New York Times
“Both old school and cutting-edge at the same time.” – The Wall Street Journal

2022 NEA Jazz Master Big Chief Donald Harrison Jr. is a musician/composer dedicated to mastering every era of jazz, soul, and funk and composing orchestral classical music. He has been called a "One man music festival" because his performances cover the history of music and show his knowledge of many styles is the basis for his innovations. According to geniuses Eddie Palmieri, Nicholas Payton, Carl Allen, and Mike Clark, he is a genius. Harrison is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture, where he keeps alive one of the root contributors cultures to Traditional jazz. Harrison is also the innovator of three influential jazz styles, including a modern jazz twist to New Orleans' second-line music that blends classic jazz with hip-hop, funk, and soul music, called “Nouveau Swing.”