Joe Harriott
Joe Harriott's music goes virtually unheard today, yet the alto saxophonist exerted a powerful influence on early free jazz in England. The Jamaican-born and raised Harriott played with his countrymen, trumpeter Dizzy Reece and tenor saxophonist Wilton "Bogey" Gaynair, before emigrating to England in 1951. In London, Harriott worked freelance and in the band of trumpeter Pete Pitterson. In 1954, he landed an important gig with drummer Tony Kinsey; the next year he played in saxophonist Ronnie Scott's big band. His first album as a leader was 1959's Southern Horizon. Originally a bop-oriented player, Harriott gradually grew away from the conventions of that style. During a 1960 hospital stay, Harriott envisaged a new method of improvisation that, to an extent, paralleled the innovations of Ornette Coleman. Harriott was initially branded a mere imitator of Coleman, but close listening to both men reveals distinct differences in their respective styles. Harriott manifested a more explicit philosophical connection with bebop, for one thing, and his music was more concerned with ensemble interaction than was Coleman's early work. The 1960 album Free Form, which included trumpeter Shake Keane, pianist Pat Smythe, bassist Coleridge Goode, and drummer Phil Seaman, illustrated Harriott's new techniques. Beginning in 1965, he began fusing jazz with various types of world folk musics. He collaborated with Indian musician John Mayer on a record -- 1967's Indo-Jazz Suite -- that utilized modal and free jazz procedures. The album's traditional jazz quintet instrumentation was augmented by a violin, sitar, tambura, and tabla. Harriott's recorded output was scarce and virtually none of it remains in print.
© Chris Kelsey /TiVo
Discography
8 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Hum Dono
Joe Harriott, Amancio D'Silva, Amancio D'Silva Quartet
Jazz - Released by Trunk Records on Feb 2, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Indo-Jazz Fusions I & II
Jazz - Released by Decca (UMO) on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Live at Harry's 1963
Contemporary Jazz - Released by RaRe Music on Apr 24, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Partying with Joe
Bebop - Released by Gearbox Records on Aug 2, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Happy Birthday Joe (All Tracks Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Millennium Digital Remaster on Jul 15, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo