Billy Harper

Billy Harper (born January 17, 1943 in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz saxophonist, "one of a generation of Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists" with a distinctively stern, hard-as-nails sound on his instrument.^[1]

Biography

In 1965 Harper earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Texas.^[2]

Harper has played with some of jazz's greatest drummers; he served with Art Blakey's Messengers for two years (196870); he played very briefly with Elvin Jones (1970), he played with the Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra in the 1970s, and was a member of Max Roach's band in the late 1970s.^[3] He has also been a frequent member of Randy Weston's ensembles. He performed on Gil Evans' 1973 album Svengali, and contributed two of the most-performed tunes in the band's repertoire: "Priestess" and "Thoroughbred".

Harper's 1973 album Capra Black "remains one of the seminal recordings of jazz's black consciousness movement--a profoundly spiritual effort that channels both the intellectual complexity of the avant garde as well as the emotional potency of gospel".^[4] The Italian jazz label Black Saint was launched with Harper's 1975 album Black Saint. His later releases have mostly been on SteepleChase and Evidence.

Discography

As leader

• 1973: Capra Black (Strata East)
• 1975: Black Saint (Black Saint)
• 1977: Soran-Bushi, B.H. (Denon)
• 1979: Trying to Make Heaven My Home (MPS Records)
• 1979: Billy Harper Quintet in Europe (Soul Note)
• 1979: The Awakening (Marge Records)
• 1980: The Believer (Baystate)
• 1989: Destiny Is Yours
• 1993: Somalia
• 1998: If Our Hearts Could Only See (DIW Records)
• 2000: Soul of an Angel
• 2009: Blueprints of Jazz, Vol. 2

As sideman

With Charles Earland

• Intensity (Prestige, 1972)
• Charles III (Prestige, 1973)

With Gil Evans

• Blues in Orbit (Enja, 1970)
• Where Flamingos Fly (Artists House, 1971)
• Svengali (Atlantic, 1973)

With Bobbi Humphrey

• Flute In (Blue Note, 1971)

With Lee Morgan

• The Last Session (Blue Note, 1972)

With Max Roach

• Lift Every Voice and Sing (Atlantic, 1971)
• The Loadstar (Horo, 1977)

With Woody Shaw

• Love Dance (Muse, 1975)

With McCoy Tyner

• Journey (Birdology, 1993)

With Randy Weston

• Tanjah (Polydor, 1973)
• Carnival (Freedom, 1974)

References

This article uses material from the article Billy Harper from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.