Rufus Harley

[six string]

Yesterday I found a copy of Scotch and Soul by Rufus Harley on Atlantic records at a local shop but I didn't buy it. I don't dislike bagpipes per se but I didn't want to buy the album if it wasn't any good regardless of instrumentation.

Has anyone heard this album and is it worth picking up? I'm willing to bet it never made it to the cd format.

[BeBop]

Harley gets resurrected every few years, for better or worse. Scotch and Soul is part of the Courage box set

http://www.amazon.com/Courage-Atlantic-Recordings-Rufus-Harley/dp/B000PBSPGK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1331838695&sr=1-1

[JSngry]

I find myself liking Rufus Harley more and more as time goes by, perhaps more than I should, but hey.

Not a bad tenor player, either.

[sidewinder]

Interestingly, on the recent BBC film showing of Sonny Rollins at Ronnie Scotts 1974 he was strongly featured on soprano. Some excellent footage of Harley in action on that film.

[Dave James]

Bagpipes are off limits for me. It's one of the truly annoying sounds the planet has ever produced. I'd rather be locked in a room for a whole day listening to Myron Floren play "Lady of Spain" on a tape loop than have to deal with anything of any duration played on bagpipes.

[BeBop]

Not a bad tenor player, either.

Agree on this part.

Perhaps I'm just too (something), but I really tire quickly listening to Western music on non-chromatic instruments. So when Harley's substituting a major scale tone (say a third), when I minor scale tone is in the composed melody, it's cringe and flee time.

[JSngry]

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but that's what I mean by liking him perhaps more than I should.

I really had no use for him until I heard his tenor playing. Then everything else started making sense in its own way. Its like a sincere/naive hustle, if you know what I mean. I know he knows better, you know he knows better, we both know for damn sure that he knows that he knows better, but he doesn't try to pretend otherwise, and...there it is.

What i really like is his later "spiritual" sides that he did on indie labels. That stuff just works, period.

Edited March 15, 2012 by JSngry

[clifford_thornton]

Yeah, I saw him on a gig with Byard Lancaster and Harold E. Smith shortly before he passed and in that context, Harley's bagpipes worked... in a way. It was an interesting set.

[six string]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I didn't get much help with google and I was pretty sure I'd get better answers here and I did. I'm still not sure whether I want to buy the album or not. There were other lps I left behind that I'd go back and get a lot quicker than Harley's album. Still there's a part of me that's curious about the sound of bag pipes and jazz.

That's some crazy idea.

[BeBop]

You could always sample the MP3s at Amazon or iTunes. Worst case, it's not like this is hugely hard to find, if you redecide.

[ejp626]

... Still there's a part of me that's curious about the sound of bag pipes and jazz.

That's some crazy idea.

I think of it this way, I would definitely rather hear bassoon in jazz than bagpipes (particularly by a guy who wasn't really in control of the instrument) and I don't really want to hear bassoon in jazz.

Just saying...

[BeBop]

... Still there's a part of me that's curious about the sound of bag pipes and jazz.

That's some crazy idea.

I think of it this way, I would definitely rather hear bassoon in jazz than bagpipes (particularly by a guy who wasn't really in control of the instrument) and I don't really want to hear bassoon in jazz.

Just saying...

I'm with you on the bassoon. Oboe, on the other hand.... I buried my old Pacific Jazz stuff long ago.

[Teasing the Korean]

I never pass up his records. The tone he gets on the bagpipes is not too far from the harder soprano sax tone that Coltrane and others coaxed from the instrument.

[Dave James]

I never pass up his records. The tone he gets on the bagpipes is not too far from the harder soprano sax tone that Coltrane and others coaxed from the instrument.

You'll be hearing from Mr. Coltrane's legal team shortly.

[Chuck Nessa]

[JSngry]

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

am a new fan of the last few years, but the man is obviously very very special, i love his music. i have his debut lp i got for .50c in a plain disco. jacket and i also have the atlantic lp he did that was cut in CSG Stereo . also watched that great docu. on him on youtube

Edited March 18, 2012 by chewy

[Big Wheel]

And I thought the time I saw an older dude in Boston smoking a pipe while riding a bike was awesome. This wins the Internet.

[A Lark Ascending]

I like his 'Home in the Highlands' and 'Tribute to Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard' albums. Due for a two-fer reissue in a couple of weeks.

(That Darth Vadar clip is brilliant!)

Edited March 18, 2012 by A Lark Ascending

[Dave James]

This comment on YouTube cracked me up:

When my dad came in the room, I switched to gay porn, its easier to explain...