Rod Harris, Jr.

Rod Harris Jr. joined the FSU faculty in Fall 2023. He received a Bachelor of Business Management (B.B.A) and pursued a Master’s Degree (M.M.A) in Jazz Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. Harris has worked as a professional touring guitarist since 2008. While Harris’s musical roots are steeped in jazz (guitar), his professional collaborations include performances with numerous artists spanning multiple musical genres from gospel, soul, hip-hop, jazz and R&B. In 2017, Harris was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for his guitar and production contributions on Atlantic Recording artist Musiq Soulchild’s album, Feel The Real.

Harris’s professional collaborations include performances with artists such as Russell Gunn, Wycliff Gordon, Red Holloway, Bishop Paul S. Morton, Marcus Printup, Musiq Soulchild, Monica, Maysa, Beyonce, Rueben Studdard, Queen Latifah, Melanie Feona, Mark Whitfield, Doug Carn, Fred Wesley, Syleena Johnson, Jagged Edge, Maxwell, Joi, Keiko Matsui, Brian Bromberg, Dionne Farris, Jennifer Holliday, Regina Belle, and many others.

In addition to teaching at FSU, Harris maintains an online jazz guitar teaching studio platform via YouTube that boasts more than 3,000 worldwide subscribers. Harris has been praised by students as having a “practical approach to teaching jazz guitar” and “teaching methods [that] focus on developing a deeper understanding of the mechanics of the instrument while improving jazz vocabulary and repertoire.”

Harris continues to maintain an active performance and recording schedule. In addition to musical contributions to other artist’s projects, Harris has released some notable projects of his own.

Recent recordings include: RHJ Plays For Wayne (5015 Records, 2023); Greg Satterthwaite’s Savannah Blue (2023); Midnight Sky (2021); The 2u0 Ses2i0ns: Celebrating the Music of Jazz Piano Legends (2020); Exits & Options (2018); The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra’s Get It How You Live (Ropeadope Records 2018); Musiq Soulchild’s Feel The Real (Atlantic Records, 2017); The Counsel Of Elders (2016); Southwesterminal (Ropedope 2015); How It Feels (featuring Musiq Soulchild) (Atlanta Records, 2014).

Harris can also be seen performing in the hit film biopics Cadillac Records (starring Beyoncé and Adrian Brody); Bessie (starring Queen Latifah); Season 2 of BET’s American Soul (Feb 2020); the National Geographic series The American Genius: Aretha Franklin (starring Cynthia Erivo); and The Color Purple musical film (Dec 2023).