Tom Harrell
Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946 in Urbana , Illinois ) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer . In addition to the trumpet , he also plays the flugelhorn .
Live and act
Tom Harrell was born in Urbana, Illinois and began learning the trumpet when he was eight. He soon moved to San Francisco with his parents . There he performed with local bands at the age of 13. In 1969 he graduated from Stanford University and became a member of Stan Kenton's orchestra, toured with the orchestra and took part in recordings. After he left Kenton's band, he played with the Woody Herman Big Band (1970-1971), Azteca (1972), the Horace Silver Quintet (1973-1974), the Sam Jones Big Band, the Lee Konitz Nonet (1979-1981 ), George Russell , the Mel Lewis Orchestra (1981) and Charlie Hadens Liberation Music Orchestra . He also recorded with Bill Evans , Dizzy Gillespie , Bob Brookmeyer , Lionel Hampton and others. From 1983 to 1989 he was a key member of the Phil Woods Quintet, touring the world and making numerous recordings. It was also Phil Woods who encouraged Harrell in his work as a composer:
““ Although I had a solo career playing with Phil Woods, it was he who encouraged me to write my own pieces. ““
He has had his own band since 1989, mostly in a quintet formation, occasionally also in a big band line-up. There is hardly an important jazz club or jazz festival where it has not performed. He has recorded for numerous jazz labels, including Pinnacle, Blackhawk, Criss Cross, SteepleChase , Contemporary Records , Chesky and RCA . For his recordings he was able to win sidemen musicians such as Kenny Garrett , Kenny Barron , John Scofield , Joe Lovano , Danilo Pérez , Leon Parker , Billy Hart , Charlie Haden, Reggie Johnson or Art Farmer . Harrell recorded the two releases Light On from 2007 and Prana Dance from 2009 in a quintet line-up together with Wayne Escoffery (tenor saxophone), Danny Grissett (Fender Rhodes and piano), Ugonna Okegwo (bass) and Johnathan Blake (drums).
Tom Harrell has been struggling with a severe handicap offstage as he suffers from schizophrenia . His wife, Angela Harrell, who also works as a co-producer on Moving Picture , made it possible for him to overcome the impairments and continue his music career.
In September 2016 the album Something Gold, Something Blue was released , all except for the classic Body and Soul own compositions, on which he worked closely with Ambrose Akinmusire . He presented the album Moving Picture , which was again released on HighNote Records in 2017 in a quartet line-up (with Adam Cruz dr, Danny Grissett p, Ugonna Okegwo b) in a small European tour in 2018, including in Berlin and Münster; the performance in Berlin's Quasimodo was recorded and broadcast on May 28, 2018 in the In Concert series by Deutschlandfunk Kultur .
Discography (selection)
- Phil Woods : Heaven (Evidence, 1986), with Hal Galper , Steve Gilmore, and Bill Goodwin
- Jim Hall : Dialogues (Telarc, 1995), with Bill Frisell , Gil Goldstein , Joe Lovano, and Mike Stern
- Sail Away (Original Jazz Classics, 2003, recorded in 1989), with James Williams , Ray Drummond and Adam Nussbaum
- Joe Lovano : Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1996), with Christian McBride , Lewis Nash , Billy Hart, Mulgrew Miller and Anthony Cox
- Light On (Highnote Records, 2007), with Wayne Escoffery, Danny Grissett, Ugonna Okegwo, and Johnathan Blake
- Prana Dance (Highnote Records, 2009), with Wayne Escoffery, Danny Grissett, Ugonna Okegwo, and Johnathan Blake
- The Time of the Sun (HighNote Records, 2011)
- Number Five (HighNote Records, 2012)
- Colors of a Dream (HighNote Records, 2013)
- Something Gold, Something Blue (2016) with Ambrose Akinmusire
- Moving Picture (HighNote Records, 2017) with Adam Cruz, Danny Grissett, Ugonna Okegwo
- Infinity (HighNote Records, 2019) with Mark Turner , Charles Altura , Ben Street , Johnathan Blake
Lexical entry
- Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz. 1800 bands and artists from the beginning until today. 2nd, expanded and updated edition. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-476-01892-X .
Web links
- Tom Harrell's website
- Rolf Thomas: Tom Harrell. The best. In: Jazzthing / 78 (archived).
- Tom Harrell at Allmusic (English)
- Tom Harrell at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Rolf Thomas: Tom Harrell. The best. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) In: Jazz thing / 78
- ↑ Interview with Chris Wong (2004)
- ↑ Making Music That Catches the Wind (2008)
- ↑ Harrell Blows Past His Troubles Trumpeter Overcomes Mental Illness To Achieve Jazz Stardom (1996) at Philly.com
- ↑ Something Gold, Something Blue Allmusic, accessed May 31, 2018
- ↑ The record was made in September 2016 in That Sound Music Studio in Pompignan , southern France . See Tom Harrell - Moving Picture , Discogs, accessed May 31, 2018
- ↑ Tom Harrell Quartet Sehnsuchtsvolle Klangreisen , DLF Kultur, May 28, 2018, accessed May 31, 2018
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Harrell, Tom |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz trumpeter and composer |
DATE OF BIRTH | June 16, 1946 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Urbana , Illinois |