"People say jazz is dead. I say, hell, if you listen to the radio you would think so" -SF (jump to interview)

Vibraphonist-marimbist Stefon Harris is showing the world why he's a future superstar with the April 20 release of his fifth Blue Note recording, Evolution.

The Albany, New York, native is a critically acclaimed, mature jazz instrumentalist-composer with a BA in classical music and an MA in jazz performance from the Manhattan School of Music.

He has performed in front of sold-out crowds back in New York City. Next week, Harris and his new band Blackout made a tour stop at the Dakota for a two-night stint on April 26-27.

Blackout's personnel includes alto saxophonist Casey Benjamin, keyboardist Marc Cary, bassist Darryl Hall, and drummer Terreon Gully. Harris calls the band Blackout because the group is about blacking out the narrow views surrounding and constricting the definition of jazz.

At 30, he has already earned three Grammy nominations for Blue Note recordings Black Action Figure, Kindred, and the The Grand Unification Theory, a concert-length jazz suite for a 12-piece ensemble.

Obvious comparisons linking Harris to Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson are inevitable, although he's no vibraphone fiend. Harris doesn't love or hate the vibraphone. If he wasn't playing that instrument, Harris says he would play something else. It just so happened that when he needed to pick an instrument, Harris made a random decision to be a percussionist.

At the age of six, he began playing the piano, and eventually by eighth grade had expanded his musical proficiency to nearly 20 instruments. Harris' favorite was the trombone, and his least favorite was the trumpet.

The new CD's perfect match is a mix: a danceable electric-acoustic hybrid of R&B, hip hop and jazz elements with plenty of thump.

Before making his way to Milan to play with Kenny Barron's new group (Images CD to drop in May), Harris' mood was light and cheerful during a recent phone interview.