2026 Jazz at Lincoln Center National Collegiate Jazz Championship
Piano PerformanceHonorable Mention
Combo Performance / ArrangementHonorable Mentiion
About Me
Brandon Harper is a Chicago-based jazz pianist. He was a 2024 Ravinia Steans Music Institute fellow under Rufus Reid, Billy Childs, and Steve Wilson. Brandon earned ILMEA All-State honors in 10th grade for percussion. He began teaching himself piano one year before while still performing percussion with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. He soon added drums across three youth jazz programs before focusing solely on jazz piano as a high school junior.
Brandon, 21, has performed at Chicago Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Chicago Winter Jazz Fair, Andy’s Jazz Club, Jazz Showcase and Winter's Jazz Club. He plays frequently in drummer Isaiah Spencer's ensembles and also has played several times with alto saxophonist Greg Ward and his band. He also previously co-hosted a standing jam session with bassist Clark Sommers. Brandon is recognized for his creativity and enjoys small-ensemble performance and collaborative musicianship.
Brandon received honorable mentions in Piano and Combo Arrangement at the 2026 Jazz at Lincoln Center National Collegiate Jazz Championship, helping lead Northwestern Jazz Orchestra to its first appearance. He was Outstanding Piano Soloist in 2025 at Elmhurst Jazz Festival and was a 2024 YoungArts winner. Brandon majors in Jazz Studies at Northwestern University under Derrick Gardner. He is an alumni of Jazz Institute of Chicago's Jazz Links program and was a co-winner of that organization's Kiewet–Wang Scholarship, awarded to the two high school students judged Chicago's best in a competition.
Brandon also is an alumni of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s prestigious Summer Jazz Academy and the NAfME All-National Honors Ensemble for Jazz. He played drums and then piano as a Ravinia Jazz Scholar and played jazz drums at Merit School of Music.
Videos
Greg Ward Quintet65 Windmills
Marques Carroll Trumpet Summit
The Isaiah Spencer Quartet
Greg Ward QuintetHungry Brain Tune
Clif Wallace's Big Band Andy's Jazz Club • Chicago
Original Compositions Ravinia Steans Music Institute Jazz Program