A Lark Ascending Posted February 3, 2005 Author Report Posted February 3, 2005 Wait until you hear 'Modal' off 'Abstract'! Quote
king ubu Posted February 4, 2005 Report Posted February 4, 2005 As this thread is up again, I can gladly report I got hold of "Abstract" a few months ago (via Amazon UK), and love it just as much as "Free Form"! Two great, if not essential, discs. ubu Quote
SNWOLF Posted February 4, 2005 Report Posted February 4, 2005 I was thinking when I started reading this thread that it seemed insane that an artist of Harriott's stature, with the renewed interest in him, didn't have a compilation album dedicated to him. But it appears there is: the "Genius" CD mentioned. I'll see if I can track it down. I've only got Abstract and Freeform, and the track from Gilles Peterson 'Impressed: Vol. 1' - it would be good the hear the full album that track came from. I love his playing, he doesn't muck around - in for the kill with this wonderful serrated lyricism. The book sounds interesting, and the way Bev has put it, he had a withdrawn personality, didn't connect. I've read in other places that he was very arrogant and hostile, and burned more than a few bridges that way. Or did the more gregarious musicians of his day just take personally his need for space and and misinterpret his lack of loquaciousness. If he was a highly abstract thinker, he might just has been so socially awkward he didn't realise the effect his behaviour was having on others, and the alienation and frustration of not connecting socially and intellectually, people not "getting" him and his music, could well have driven him to some hostile attitudes. At any rate, the slashing expressionism of his playing is one of those rare delights that help make jazz a world that's impossible to burn out on. If there was a jazz heaven I can imagine him doing some intense jamming with Booker Little - now that would be heavy front line. Quote
sidewinder Posted February 4, 2005 Report Posted February 4, 2005 (edited) There was an excerpt of Harriott's voice from a radio interview broadcast on last week's 'Jazz Britannia' and he came across as an intelligent, cultured and clearly spoken guy. He obviously didn't have doubts as to his own importance on the UK scene (rightly so IMO) and I suspect that by the late 60s a great deal of disillusion had set in. To his very great credit he kept on touring the UK and putting his all into some very low-key gigs, whilst obviously very unwell with the bronchial problems. His chaotic home life and lack of a solid base were clearly major issues though and by the end he was very much a drifter, relying on generosity of friends. The Harriott biography is an essential read IMO. There's a great section where Charles Mingus breaks off his UK tour to visit Harriott in hospital in Southampton. Mingus wasn't allowed to visit at the early time he got there (just before boarding ship) so he left a nice message for Joe. Harriott in a Mingus group would have been well worth hearing. That bit of TV footage of Harriott on 'Jazz Britannia' with Stan Tracey's Big Brass last week spoke volumes. Joe plays superbly on his Ellington feature, giving 110% but his face is visibly drawn (by 1968/9) and the health problems seem to have clearly kicked in. Edited February 4, 2005 by sidewinder Quote
baryshnikov Posted February 4, 2005 Report Posted February 4, 2005 Gary ,Gilles Pterson issued two awesome cds last year.Impressed volumes one and two. On volume one The Joe Harroit and Amancio Silva Quartet play Jaipur from the album Hum Dono, this lp is £150 if you can find it? These two cds are excellent, full of wondrous tunes that will really surprise you. Considering the years they were recorded they still sound fresh and have the ability to move you? Please buy both as given a few years time these will fetch at least £40 plus on ebay, the soul jazz compilations do. paul Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted February 6, 2005 Author Report Posted February 6, 2005 I believe Hum Dono is due to be re-issued as part of the Universal reissue programme that has followed from the success of the Impressed series. Quote
Late Posted February 6, 2005 Report Posted February 6, 2005 Harriott in a Mingus group would have been well worth hearing. An understatement — and great idea! Imagine: Tony Coe: tenor saxophone, clarinet Shake Keane: trumpet Joe Harriott: alto saxophone Jaki Byard: piano Charles Mingus: bass Dannie Richmond: drums Late '65? Early '66? The forgotten "British" sextet? Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted February 6, 2005 Author Report Posted February 6, 2005 With computer technology/sampling advancing as it is, it can only be a matter of time before that sextet will exist. Quote
Late Posted February 6, 2005 Report Posted February 6, 2005 ... and, along those lines, maybe we'll get to hear Buddy Bolden some day! Quote
sidewinder Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Harriott in a Mingus group would have been well worth hearing. An understatement — and great idea! Imagine: Tony Coe: tenor saxophone, clarinet Shake Keane: trumpet Joe Harriott: alto saxophone Jaki Byard: piano Charles Mingus: bass Dannie Richmond: drums Late '65? Early '66? The forgotten "British" sextet? Add Harry Beckett on trumpet/flugel to the lineup. He seems to have got on really well with Mingus (unlike just about everyone else ) whilst they were filming 'All Night Long' in 1961. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted February 7, 2005 Author Report Posted February 7, 2005 ... and, along those lines, maybe we'll get to hear Buddy Bolden some day! Possibly playing along with Kylie Minogue! Quote
Late Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Add Harry Beckett on trumpet/flugel to the lineup. Or ... give Keane his own trumpet section! I've actually never heard any trumpet player perform this way, and would be interested in checking it out. Any good examples out there? (Sidewinder, don't change your current avatar — at least for a while! I'm liking it.) Sorry for derailing somewhat ... Quote
Alexander Hawkins Posted February 8, 2005 Report Posted February 8, 2005 Not two at once, but Clark Terry when I saw him had his trumpet and flugel held a little like that, and play a chase chorus with himself. Only one winner in that situation! Quote
jazzbo Posted February 8, 2005 Report Posted February 8, 2005 Frank Motley did that dual trumpet thang. . . apparently up through the sixties and beyond (in Canada?) . . . . I have this Gotham cd and he also appears on T. N. T. Trible's Gotham cd . . . worth checking out for 2.98 at www.oldies.com Quote
sidewinder Posted April 13, 2005 Report Posted April 13, 2005 (edited) Anyone ever heard Harriott's 'Personal Portrait' LP that was put out in 1968 on UK Columbia and have any thoughts to share on the music? Edited April 13, 2005 by sidewinder Quote
brownie Posted November 16, 2005 Report Posted November 16, 2005 In a photo book I recently purchased on photographer Marcel Fleiss ('Now's The Time', Editions Bleu Outre-Mers) there are two photos from a record session made in Paris (no date, but obviously around 1953). Photos show Joe Harriott, with a French-British group that include pianist René Urtregrer, guitarist Jimmy Gourley, drummer Jean-Louis Viale. Any idea if the session was ever issued? Quote
sidewinder Posted November 17, 2005 Report Posted November 17, 2005 There's brief mention of a visit by Harriott to the Paris Jazz Fair in June 1954 in the recent Harriott biography, 'Fire In His Soul'. He played the Salle Pleyel as part of Tony Kinsey's group. There were attempts to book Harriott at a couple of the clubs in an exchange for Martial Solal but I believe they failed. There's no details of any recordings made - Harriott's next confirmed recording session was for Esquire in Dec 1954. Interestingly, there's mention that Joe was pretty terrified in the aircraft during the short, bumpy flight over to France - he hated flying. Quote
brownie Posted November 17, 2005 Report Posted November 17, 2005 June 1954 is probably when the photos were made and that session was held. The 'Now's The Time' book has a cover shot of Rolleiflex-equiped Marcel Fleiss taking a closeup shot of Thelonious Monk practising at the piano during the 1954 Jazz Fair (Salon du Jazz). Monk was one of the festival stars. The book incidentally has several unusual shots of Monk taken at the time of the festival including one showing him at Fleiss' Paris home caught reading what must be the European edition of the then New York Herald Tribune. Monk is seated on a couch with Sacha Distel on one side and drummer Frank Isola (who was playing with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet) on the other side. Too bad that the session with Joe Harriott never surfaced! Quote
Late Posted June 13, 2007 Report Posted June 13, 2007 Just wanted to give a heads-up for those interested: Free Form is available again. This time not through Redial, but through some UK label called Gott Discs. I assume they're legit, but don't know. At any rate, this is a terrific album, along with his other session from around this time: Abstract. The Bards have it here. Quote
sidewinder Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 Just wanted to give a heads-up for those interested: Free Form is available again. This time not through Redial, but through some UK label called Gott Discs. Never heard of them ! Wonder if this is a boot? (there again, what isn't these days). Quote
Teasing the Korean Posted June 14, 2007 Report Posted June 14, 2007 ... However, as opposed to those who don't like his Indo-Jazz Fusions and Indo-Jazz Suite, I am very fond of those LPs. It's a nice minority to be in.... Quote
AndrewHill Posted October 28, 2009 Report Posted October 28, 2009 Just wanted to give a heads-up for those interested: Free Form is available again. This time not through Redial, but through some UK label called Gott Discs. Never heard of them ! Wonder if this is a boot? (there again, what isn't these days). What label put out the first cd edition? It seems the US label was Jazzland, so was it in the OJC CD series? Quote
clifford_thornton Posted October 28, 2009 Report Posted October 28, 2009 I've never seen an OJC of the Harriott Jazzland LPs. They're fantastic, as is the Capitol/Columbia session Abstract. Quote
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