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Joe Harriott: Free Form & Abstract Revisited

By Mark Corroto
September 25, 2021
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Joe Harriott: Free Form & Abstract Revisited

Call it partisanship or maybe musical chauvinism, but North American audiences have traditionally had little appreciation for jazz musicians from the United Kingdom or, for that matter, Europe. Rewind back to 1961, and explain why Americans were not hip to the

Joe Harriott

saxophone
1928 - 1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Harriott Quintet? His two releases, Free Form, released in 1961, and Abstract, in 1963, if released by an American artist would have been held in the same regard as the music of

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins or

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman. That might be a bold statement, but the proof is these remastered recordings.

Harriott was born in Jamaica in 1928. His career blossomed in the London scene and, like almost every other musician, he was influenced by the revolution of

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker's bebop sound. His alto saxophone, though, would go on to explore 'free form' music much like Ornette Coleman. He differs from Coleman here in that, although Ornette parted ways with pianist

Paul Bley

piano
1932 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Bley in the late 50s, Harriott embraced the chordal instrument. We hear pianist Pat Smythe on both of these revisited releases. But like Ornette with

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry, Harriott's music is partnered by trumpeter Shake Kane. The music heard here is bebop without barlines. Like early Coleman, Harriott was freeing not only himself, but his entire quintet. We hear flavors of hard bop in "Formation" and "Abstract," West Coast coolness in "Coda" and the 'islands sound' associated with

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins on "Calypso." Harriott was a musical omnivore and, while 15 of the 16 tracks were penned by him, perhaps his cover of Rollins' "Oleo" is evidence that he was as hip and forward-thinking as the tenor titan. Playing with lissome and nimble fingers, Harriott and crew hurtle themselves through the changes like a speeding automobile. Changing pace, "Modal" is a slow-drag blues featuring Kane's trumpet plus his well-placed rhythm tapping on a brandy glass. Whether you discovered Harriott from

Ken Vandermark

saxophone
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark's Joe Harriott Project release Straight Lines (Atavistic, 1999) or have never before heard of this jazz icon, Free Form & Abstract Revisited is an excellent place to start.

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Track Listing

Formation; Coda; Abstract; Impression; Straight Lines; Calypso; Tempo; Subject; Shadows; Oleo; Modal; Tonal; Pictures; Idiom; Compound.

Personnel

Joe Harriott

saxophone

Shake Keane

trumpet

Pat Smythe

piano

Coleridge Goode

bass

Bobby Orr

drums

Phil Seaman

drums

Frank Holder

bongos

Additional Instrumentation

Shake Keane: flugelhorn; Phil Seaman: drums (1-8, 13-16); Bobby Orr: drums (9-12); Frank Holder: bongos (9, 10).

Album information

Title: Free Form & Abstract Revisited | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Ezz-thetics

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