Jazz vocalist Karla Harris has made a career within the art form she loves for more than four decades, engaging audiences from Portland to Provence. Her performance credits include events such as the Sarasota Jazz Festival, Portland Jazz Festival, Oregon Coast Jazz Party, Greenville Jazz Festival, 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.  In addition to performing, writing and recording, Karla is an artist-in-residence with the Jazz Studies department at Kennesaw State University, teaching  Applied Vocal Jazz to aspiring singers passionate about this uniquely American art form. She is a recipient of Atlanta Magazine’s 2024 Women Making a Mark award in recognition of her “Jazz Discovery” educational and community outreach programs, and in 2025 was one of 29 individuals across North America named a “Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association. Karla also is honored to be the subject of a short-form documentary by filmmaker Elisee Junior St. Preux, produced by South Fulton Arts in Atlanta.

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.”

Karla’s love for singing started first with a love for words and the power of their expression. As a young girl growing up in the suburbs west of St. Louis, she often would spend Saturday mornings writing little stories. Many afternoons would find her listening to favorites in her parents’ eclectic album collection, singing along. Attracted to the stories told, she transcribed lyrics sung by Nancy Wilson, Billie Holiday, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., the Fifth Dimension, Aretha Franklin, and more. At family gatherings, she and her cousin put on shows. Her first taste of performing for a “real” audience came at age 10, when she sang a solo during a grade-school choral concert.

While in college, Karla began singing with Gateway Jazz Ensemble. The venerable St. Louis band featured beloved  jazz vocalist Jeanne Trevor, an early mentor. Karla soon began working regularly with other top groups in her hometown. In the early 2000s, she was lead vocalist in combos led by internationally acclaimed bassist Tom Kennedy, whose credits include such greats as Rosemary Clooney, Freddie Hubbard, Mike Stern, Lee Ritenour, Ben Vereen, Dave Weckl. An invaluable experience, it helped pave the way when a 2005 move to the Pacific Northwest landed Karla in Portland, Oregon’s, celebrated jazz scene.