Joe Harriott Quartet - Southern Horizons + Free Form + Abstract / 2CD set

2014 CD collection. 3LPs on 2CDs.

Joe Harriott arrived in England in 1951, where he was quickly recognised as one of Britains warmest, most fluent and adventurous alto men. The three fine albums he made as leader between 1959 and 1962 illustrate the range of his imagination.

The first, Southern Horizons, presents trumpeter Hank Shaw, with Joe delivering some arresting solos in a Parker-inspired, tonally expressive style. The tunes, mostly originals by Harriott and pianist Harry South, range from bop to hard bop, with a solidly swinging rhythm section, completed by Coleridge Goode on bass and Bobby Orr on drums, reinforcing the highly charged atmosphere.

Joes adventurous mind led him to break away from conventional melodic and harmonic structures and into many of the freedoms Ornette Coleman was exploring. The other two albums here, Free Forms and Abstract introduce new and often daring ideas through his fiery playing. Its an error if anybody thinks Ornette influenced me, he insisted, pointing out that his vital music, which he described as basically an attempt to paint freely, derived from a sharing of ideas with another West Indian musician, Shake Keane. Harriotts independent evolution is crystal clear, and Keane contributes powerful and imaginative trumpet and flugelhorn solos. Pianist Pat Smythe is a huge asset to the group in an exceptional rhythm section with Coleridge Goode and the brilliant drummer Phil Seamen, later replaced by a returning Bobby Orr.