Residency Artist - Traditional Arts
Residency Artist - Music

Baba Jubal Harris

4217 Bexley Blvd.
South Euclid, OH  44121
Phone: (216) 402-9542
Email: babajubal@hotmail.com

I am a percussionist, drum maker, storyteller and teaching artist. My goal is to engage students and teachers in an artistic process that integrates the traditional arts with the core academic curriculum. During a recent Ohio Arts Council (OAC) Arts Learning residency at the Ohio School for the Blind, band and choir students in grades K-12 learned to play and sing African polyrhythms. History, geography, science, math and culinary arts were also integrated into their classroom curriculum. During another OAC residency at the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, fifth-grade students made drums and learned to perform as an ensemble that included, piano, Orff xylophone, vocals and percussion. I am a pioneer of African Centered Arts integration in American schools and my methodology allows collaboration to develop experiences that meet the Ohio Fine Arts Academic Content Standards for music grades K-12.This multiple intelligence approach is holistic and supports student creativity and achievement. Above all, my love of life and joy of sharing my many creative talents inspires students to learn.

I am a socially responsible artist rooted in the realization that life is a precious gift to be enjoyed and shared with reverence and respect. I strive to reflect the beauty and simplicity of nature in my art and music. My approach is harmonic and holistic. I dramatize African folktales because they are entertaining and, most importantly, they impart wisdom. My musical style employs the instruments of the full African orchestra, the song of the lead singer and chorus, hand clapping and dance that recreates a dramatic and mystical ritual saga. I make drums that are traditional and contemporary in style and construction technique. They are functional works of art. I currently perform with internationally acclaimed Kora player Alhaji Papa Susso from The Gambia, West Africa. I also perform with my ensemble "One World Rhythm" which includes musicians from West Africa, the Caribbean and the United States.

I have been a professional teacher, musician, storyteller, and craftsman for more than 30 years. Performing and teaching in over 3000 schools, universities, community centers, art museums, libraries, prisons, religious institutions, theatres, and art festivals, I have made a substantial contribution to the cultural and educational life of communities throughout the United States and abroad. Recognition of my work has appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine, Acclaim Magazine, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Columbus Dispatch and many other publications. I am a master artist in the OAC Traditional Artist Apprenticeship Program. Besides the OAC Artist in Residence program, I am a roster artist with the Greater Columbus Arts Council's Artist in the Schools program, Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio's Art is Learning program, Roots of American Music, Rhythm Culture, and the Manding Music and Dance Society Ltd. (Banjul, Gambia, West Africa). I received an Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Cincinnati and have studied at the Cincinnati Art Museum and University of Cincinnati College of Design Art and Architecture. I completed "Linking the Arts to Literacy" teacher institutes held at Cleveland State University, and "Designing Effective Instructional Residencies for Students" Seminar designed by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. held at Cleveland Play House Square. I have performed with Baba Chief Bey, Baba Ishangi, Babatunde Olatunji, Olukose Wiles, Bo Diddle and many renowned artists. I was an apprentice African Drum Maker to Baile McKnight of Washington D.C. and Sharifo Konte of Gambia West Africa. In 2006, I was nominated for an Ohio Governor's Award in Arts Education and received acknowledgement for my work in the field from award winner Dr. Jacquelyn Quay. In 2009 I was awarded a Creative Workforce Fellowship in Wood Craft from the Community Partnership for the Arts and Culture.