Eddie Harris
Eddie Harris (born October 20, 1934 in Chicago , Illinois ; † November 5, 1996 in Los Angeles ) was an American jazz musician ( tenor saxophone , also piano, vocals, other instruments, composition). Although he was the first jazz musician to receive a gold record for a release from his album Exodus to Jazz , his inclusion of various musical genres in jazz and comedic moments in his performances were taken by many jazz critics as a reason not to see him as a serious jazz musician. His composition Freedom Jazz Dance developed into the jazz standard in the late 1960s .
Live and act
Harris grew up in Chicago and like other successful Chicago musicians including Nat King Cole , Dinah Washington , Clifford Jordan , Johnny Griffin , Gene Ammons , Julian Priester and Bo Diddley , he studied music with Walter Dyett at DuSable High School . He later studied music at Roosevelt College ; At that time he was already playing the piano , vibraphone and tenor saxophone successfully . During this time, Gene Ammons made his first professional appearances. After attending college, he was drafted into the US Army . While serving in Europe, he played in the 7th Army Band , which also included Don Ellis , Leo Wright and Cedar Walton .
At the end of the 1960s, Harris, who can be considered one of the pioneers of fusion music, experimented with an electrified saxophone (LPs The Electrifying Eddie Harris and Plug me in ). He also developed the so-called reed trombone and the reed trumpet , by the Blechblasmundstücke exchanged by saxophone mouthpieces in those. (In order for the mouthpiece to fit, the brass instrument has to be corked beforehand, i.e. it has a cork rim.) This enabled Harris to apply his exceptionally safe overblowing technique in the clarin area of the tenor saxophone to the natural tones of brass instruments, for example at Carnival on I Need Some Money (1975). In addition, he made attempts to play the saxophone with bassoon mouthpieces. With the hit Compared to What , the live recording of Swiss Movement with Les McCann at the Montreux Jazz Festival on June 21, 1969 is considered one of the best jazz / funk LPs of the 1960s. Harris was also known for his yodel-like scat singing, inspired by African singing techniques .
An early excursion into jazz rock with musicians from the group Yes , as well as with Albert Lee , Jeff Beck and Steve Winwood , was both artistically and commercially unsuccessful. In the title Eddie Who? (CD of the same name, Timeless).
Eddie Harris has worked with a variety of well-known jazz and rock musicians throughout his career, including John Scofield ( Hand Jive ).
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
US | |||
1968 | The Electrifiying Eddie Harris |
US36 (41 weeks) US |
Atlantic
|
Plug Me In |
US120 (16 weeks) US |
Atlantic
|
|
1969 | High voltage |
US122 (9 weeks) US |
|
Swiss Movement |
US29
gold
(38 weeks)US |
with Les McCann
|
|
1971 | Second Movement |
US41 (27 weeks) US |
|
Eddie Harris Live At Newport |
US164 (10 weeks) US |
||
1972 | Instant death |
US185 (7 weeks) US |
Atlantic
|
1973 | EH in the UK / Is It In |
US150 (11 weeks) US |
with Albert Lee , Jeff Beck , Steve Winwood , Chris Squire , Alan White , Tony Kaye , Rufus Reid , Ronald Muldrow
|
1974 | Is It In |
US100 (11 weeks) US |
|
1975 | I need some money |
US125 (9 weeks) US |
with Ronald Muldrow
|
More albums
- 1961: Exodus to Jazz (Vee-Jay, Re-Release Carli Records, 1987)
- A Study in Jazz
- Breakfeast for Tiffanys
- 1963: Eddie Harris Bossa Nova
- 1965: The In Sound (Atlantic Records)
- 1970: Come on Down (Atlantic Records)
- The Reason Why I'm Talking S - t
- 1975: Bad Luck Is All I Have (Atlantic Records)
- 1976. That is why you're overweight (Atlantic Records)
- 1979: I'm Tired of Driving
- 1982: The Real Electrifying (Mutt & Jeff Recording Corp.)
- 1986: eddie who? ( Timeless Records , with Ralphe Armstrong & Sherman Ferguson )
- 1987: People Get Funny (Timeless Records)
- 1989: Live in Berlin (Timeless Records)
- 1990: Live at the Moonwalker (Moonwalker Label)
- 1990: There Was a Time (Echo of Harlem)
- 1993: Listen Here
- 1994: The Battle of the Tenors (with Wendell Harrison )
- 1997: The Last Concert (with the WDR Big Band Cologne )
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
US | |||
1961 | Exodus |
US36 (11 weeks) US |
|
1968 | Listen here |
US45 (13 weeks) US |
|
It's crazy |
US88 (2 weeks) US |
||
1970 | Compared To What |
US85 (4 weeks) US |
literature
- Peter Tschirky: Eddie Harris sings the blues . 2003. ISBN 3-9522609-0-8
- Carlo Bohländer , Karl Heinz Holler, Christian Pfarr: Reclam's Jazz Guide . 3rd, revised and expanded edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-15-010355-X .
Web links
- Official website
- biography
- Eddie Harris at Allmusic (English)
Remarks
- ^ According to Harris book Numerology and astrology information for musicians , quoted in [1] . According to Bohländer et al. a. Reclam's Jazz Guide 1989 on October 20, 1936
- ↑ report at Elusivedisc
- ↑ a b Chart sources: US
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: US
- ↑ see also the website of P. Tschirky
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Harris, Eddie |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz musician |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 20, 1934 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago , Illinois , United States |
DATE OF DEATH | 5th November 1996 |
Place of death | Los Angeles , California , United States |