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| 4.436 Ft
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| 1. | Segment
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| 2. | Children of the World
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| 3. | Morning Glow
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| 4. | Make It Happen
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| 5. | Tamisha
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| 6. | I've Never Been in Love Before
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| 7. | Get It! Get It!
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| 8. | Not One Chance
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| 9. | Reflection
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| 10. | Divine Surveillance
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| 11. | Lourana
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| 12. | Chronic Mistakes
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| 13. | Bangbangboomboombapbap
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| 14. | After Hours
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| 15. | The Prayer
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Jazz / Hard-Bop
Recorded: Jan8-Apr 3, 2006
Winard Harper - drums, Balafon 2 & 15
Wycliffe Gordon - trombone 4, 7,& 14, didgeridoo 4
Antonio Hart - alto saxophone 3, 5 & 6
Josh Evans - trumpet
Lawrence Clark - tenor saxophone
Stacy Dillard - tenor saxophone 1 & 12
T. W. Sample - piano
Sean Higgins - piano 1, 9 & 12
Ameen Saleem - bass
Alioune Faye - sabar, jamba, djembe
Abdou Mboup - talking drum (tama) 2 & 15, vocal15
Kevin Jones - conga, jamba, shaker, triangle
Jeremy Jones - tambourine, cowbell, dundun
Winard Harper is a talented drummer whose influences include Art Blakey, Max Roach, Jackie McLean, and Cannonball Adderley, but whose most profound influence is drummer Billy Higgins. Higgins influenced Harper not only as a drummer, but as a musician whose sense of joy and discovery was palpable, both live and on record. In addition, Higgins was interested in music from all over the world and in sometimes-exotic instruments. All of these influences come across on the latest recording by the Winard Harper Sextet, Make It Happen.
This disc truly has the appeal of an instant classic. Exploring African and Carribean rhythms in compositions by Harper, various band members, special guests, and jazz greats, the band provides a nearly perfect seventy-eight minute program of music. Released on the small independent label Piadrum, this is nonetheless one of the best jazz small group recordings to arrive during the course of the year thus far.
The opener, Charlie Parker's "Segment" features a bebop front line playing over a rhythm section that displays distinctly West Indian overtones. Stacy Dillard provides a meaty tenor solo over this rhythmic crosscurrent, followed by the straight-ahead bop statement from trumpeter Josh Evans. Pianist Sean Higgins provides a montuno section that leads into his own hard-driving solo before the head returns. Ruben Browne's "Children of the World" opens with a salvo of talking drum, conga, and various other percussion instruments. "This is the first time I have been able to put all of the percussionists together on one record" says Harper, referring to the four percussionists featured on Make It Happen. T.W. Sample's piano work brings a McCoy Tyner edge to the proceedings, and the tune's modal melody is vaguely Trane-ish.
Guests abound on this recording, including alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, who contributes his playing to "Morning Glow," "Tamisha," and "I've Never Been In Love Before." Wycliffe Gordon plays trombone on "Make It Happen," his own composition "Get It! Get It!," and "After Hours." He also contributes an introduction on didgeridoo to the title track, a world music experiment that morphs into a very funky track with some fine keyboard work from T.W. Sample. What's so great about this CD is that the music goes from style to style seemingly organically. There's never a sense that the musicians thought "Oh, let's get some Caribbean influence in right here! Let's play some funk now. OK, now we're playing straight-ahead." Like the music of one of Harper's influences, Cannonball Adderley, the music flows because Harper is focused on making the music sound good to the listener. But in doing so, he never has to lower his musical standards; instead he allows the musicians he's picked to interact and create a unique sound.
Other particularly interesting tracks include the Carribean-tinged version of Ray Bryant's bluesy "Reflection," the winding exotica of Harper's composition "Divine Surveillance," the drum and percussion solo "BandBangBoomBoomBapBap," and the final number, the African percussion ensemble tour de force "The Prayer."
While Harper's sextet grows ever more interesting, he continues to maintain a heavy schedule as a side man to musicians such as Joe Lovano, Ray Bryant, Wycliffe Gordon, and Jimmy Heath. That ensures that Winard Harper will continue to absorb interesting ideas from a variety of musical influences, and he will find ways to utilize these ideas on future recordings, I am certain. For now, get your hands on a copy of Make It Happen, and you'll be able to say you were in on one of the year's best releases way back in July.
Winard Harper
Active Decades: '90s and '00s
Born: Jun 04, 1962 in Baltimore, MD
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Hard Bop
By the time the Harper Brothers burst onto the jazz scene in 1988, older brother Winard Harper was a seasoned jazz veteran at the age of 27. He had already spent the better part of the decade performing with some of the greatest names in jazz. At 20, he was playing the drums first with Dexter Gordon, and then with Johnny Griffin. Harper then honed his chops for the next four years under the tutelage of the late, great Betty Carter. Known for her exacting expectations from her musicians, Carter helped fine-tune the talents of the young drummer from Baltimore.
It was in the legendary vocalist's band that Harper made the acquaintance of trombone player, Wycliffe Gordon. Working well together in Carter's band, the two musicians have continued to collaborate on projects. Most recently, each man appeared on the other's CD releases in the year 2000. Harper guested on Gordon's album, The Gospel Truth, while Gordon appears on Harper's Faith with Carrie Smith. Both albums are testaments to the influence of the gospel tradition on the lives of these young lions of jazz. The records also indicate the growing maturity of the artists, as their music and sources continue to broaden and deepen.
For Harper, the 1990s saw a big change in direction. For five years, from 1988-1993, his musical identity was tied up in the Harper Brothers. With his brother Philip Harper on trumpet, Winard Harper led one of the hottest groups of the post-bop era. Joined by Justin Robinson, Javon Jackson, Walter Blanding, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Stephen Scott, Kevin Hays, Michael Bowie, and Nedra Wheeler, the Harper Brothers were an international jazz sensation. Their live performances were astonishing, and their recordings did not disappoint. They produced one of the true jazz gems of the decade, the chart topping Remembrance: Live at the Village Vanguard. The record exemplifies the easy but intense synergy of this tight-knit working unit. All in all, the Harper Brothers produced four memorable albums before the group parted ways to explore new directions.
The breakup was good for all involved. Most of the musicians went on to solid solo careers. Winard Harper is a case in point. He has at least four CD's to his credit, starting with the marvelous Be Yourself (1994), followed by Trap Dancer (1998), Winard (1999), and the aforementioned Faith With Carrie Smith (2000). All recordings feature the sleek and smooth drumming of Winard Harper, who always seems to be at the right place at the right time with a neat rhythm. This quality has made him one of the most sough-after sidemen on the jazz circuit. Harper has been exploring the African rhythms of his forebears, and listeners will find many musical allusions to that influence in his work. The drummer is also noted for his abilities on the cymbals, which under his sensitive hand become an outstanding solo instrument all their own.
As the 21st century proceeds, Winard Harper is busy with his new sextet, performing gigs at such noted venues as New York's Lincoln Center. One senses there will be no turning back of the clock for this artist.
---Rose of Sharon Witmer, All Music Guide |
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