Harrison Stafford (of Groundation) & The Professor Crew

Harrison Stafford was born in 1977 and grew up in the town of Pleasanton, an east bay suburb of San Francisco, California. He attended regular public schools and also spent time in Synagogue studying the Torah and learning Hebrew. His parents have a deep appreciation for the love of music and music played an important role in the daily life of the family.

For reasons even he can’t fully explain, Reggae music and its’ history touched him at a very young age and sparked a love of the rhythm and culture of the African Diaspora. Still in high school he began to wonder why Reggae music, coming from a relatively small group of poor black people, was such a powerful voice for equal rights and justice, and he longed to be a part of that worldwide struggle.

After graduating from high school, Harrison studied jazz at Sonoma State University where he formed the fusion Reggae group Groundation in 1998. Groundation has since become one of the leading conscious bands of the underground music scene having released eight albums of original music and participated in countless world tours. Harrison continues to be a driving force behind Groundation both in his role as lead vocalist and in his creative ability to develop exciting new music.

Drawing on his personal research and his travel experiences in Jamaica and Africa, Harrison created a college level course titled “the History of Reggae Music”, which he taught at Sonoma State University from 1999-2001. The course was unique in that it took students who maybe just recently heard of Reggae music or only knew it from the popularity of Bob Marley and helped them appreciate the music on a deeper level; helped them understand how the music and message really defines who we are and where we stand in this time.

From 2000-2012 Harrison produced a documentary film on the history of the Rastafarian movement and Reggae music; entitled “Holding on to Jah”. The film features exclusive interviews with the who’s who of Reggae legends including The Congos, The Abyssinians, Ras Michael, Brother Samuel Clayton, Pablo Moses, Israel Vibration, IJahman Levi, Countryman, and Winston McAnuff among many others. Holding on to Jah was a collaboration with his long time childhood friend, director Roger Hall, and after so many years following securing all the publishing rights “Holding On To Jah” saw its world-wide release November, 2015.

Harrison continues to write music and tour with Groundation and to get involved in other projects that help spread the music and the message. He recorded a groove-jazz influenced album call “Rockamovya” in 2008 which was a collective featuring members of Groundation along with Horsemouth on the drums and Grammy nominated Jazz guitarist Will Bernard. Harrison also began solo works including a studio release (Madness 2011) and a live DVD/CD (Throw Down Your Arms 2012) under the name “Professor” which focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and featured legendary Jamaican musicians Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace on the drums and Errol “Flabba Holt” Carter on bass.

In 2016 Harrison released another solo project this time under the name “Harrison Stafford & The Professor Crew.” The album “One Dance” was released in May and received international acclaim as an album of celebration and a call for world unity. Featuring his Jamaican all-star line up tour dates throughout Europe, South America, and USA saw the band take to some of the biggest festival stages in the world.

Looking to take the new year by storm Harrison has put together a new Bay Area group featuring young up and coming Jazz and Reggae musicians fit and ready to tour the music and bring the fans something they’ve never heard before. Always looking to surprise the audience with something creative and unique; expect great things in 2017 and beyond!