Stephen Philip Harvey Octet

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 three full album releases under his belt: Suite Childhood (2016, Self-Released) and Smash! (2022, Next Level an imprint of Outside In Music). His most recent release is his debut octet album, Elemental, which is was released on Harvey’s label, Hidden Cinema Records. He added to this eclectic collection in late September of 2023 with his electric quintet’s eponymous release, Sphinx.

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.