Tom Harrell
Encyclopedia
Tom Harrell is a renowned American
post-bop
jazz
trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer and arranger.
but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area
at the age of five. He started playing trumpet at eight and within five years, started playing gigs with local bands. In 1969 he graduated from Stanford University
with a music composition degree and joined Stan Kenton
's orchestra, touring and recording with them throughout 1969.
After leaving Kenton, Harrell played with Woody Herman
's big band (1970–1971), Azteca
(1972), the Horace Silver
Quintet (1973–1977) with whom he made five albums, the Sam Jones
-Tom Harrell Big Band, the Lee Konitz
Nonet (1979–1981), George Russell, and the Mel Lewis
Orchestra (1981). From 1983-1989 he was a pivotal member of the Phil Woods
Quintet and made seven albums with the group. In addition, he recorded albums with Bill Evans
, Dizzy Gillespie
, Ronnie Cuber
, Bob Brookmeyer
, Lionel Hampton
, Bob Berg
, Bobby Shew
, Ivan Paduart, Joe Lovano
, Charlie Haden
's Liberation Orchestra, Art Farmer
, Charles McPherson, Kathleen Battle
among others.
Since 1989 Harrell has led his own groups, usually quintets but occasionally expanded ensembles such as chamber orchestra with strings and big bands. He has appeared at virtually every major jazz club and festival venues, and recorded under his own name for such record labels as RCA
, Contemporary Records
, Pinnacle, Blackhawk, Criss Cross, SteepleChase
, Chesky
, and HighNote Records
. He received a Grammy nomination for his big band album, Time's Mirror
.
Harrell is a prolific arranger and composer. He has arranged for Vince Guaraldi
's work on Peanuts, Carlos Santana
, Arturo O'Farrill
's Latin Jazz Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra
, Danish Radio Big Band, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Elisabeth Kontomanou with the Orchestre National de Lorraine, among others. His compositions have been recorded by other notable jazz artists including Ron Carter
, Joe Lovano
, Kenny Barron
, Art Farmer
, Chris Potter
, Tom Scott
, Steve Kuhn
, Kenny Werner
and Hank Jones
.
In contrast to his signature recordings during the RCA Records
/BMG
years (1996–2003) where much of his focus was on projects involving large ensembles, big bands and chamber orchestras, Harrell's more recent works demonstrate his skills as a leader of a tight, smaller unit. Harrell has made four albums with the current quintet of six years, which comprises tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery
, pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Ugonna Okegwo (whom Harrell has employed consistently since 1997), and drummer Johnathan Blake. The group is noted for its strong chemistry between the musicians and the distinctive sound achieved primarily through Harrell's compositions that combine memorable and accessible melodies with complex but groove-based rhythms and sophisticated harmonic textures. Harrell's current quintet differs from previous editions of quintets he has formed and worked with, in the use of Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano. Harrell's 2010 recording, Roman Nights, received his fourth SESAC
Jazz Award. In May 2011, the group's latest album, The Time of the Sun, will be released from Highnote Records
.
Despite his well-documented schizophrenia
, Harrell has successfully coped with the illness through medication and has become an influential figure as a jazz trumpeter and composer. He has been recorded on over 260 albums (according to the discography on his website) and continues to actively compose, record and tour extensively around the world.
Harrell has won numerous awards and grants, including multiple Trumpeter of the Year awards from Down Beat
magazine, SESAC
Jazz Award, BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated
) Composers Award, and Prix Oscar du Jazz.
Harrell's work as composer and jazz soloist has been published in a number of books by Hal Leonard,Jamey Aebersold
, Sher Music, and Gerard and Sarzin.
Harrell is currently represented by Addeo Music International (AMI)
.
With George Gruntz
With Joe Lovano
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
post-bop
Post-bop
Post-bop is a term for a form of small-combo jazz music that evolved in the early-to-mid sixties. The genre's origins lie in seminal work by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer and arranger.
Biography
Tom Harrell was born in Urbana, IllinoisUrbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
at the age of five. He started playing trumpet at eight and within five years, started playing gigs with local bands. In 1969 he graduated from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
with a music composition degree and joined Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
's orchestra, touring and recording with them throughout 1969.
After leaving Kenton, Harrell played with Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
's big band (1970–1971), Azteca
Azteca (Band)
Azteca was an American Latin rock/jazz fusion group formed in 1972, started by Coke Escovedo and his brother Pete Escovedo, who had just finished stints with Latin rock pioneering band Santana...
(1972), the Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
Quintet (1973–1977) with whom he made five albums, the Sam Jones
Samuel Jones (musician)
Samuel Jones was a jazz bassist, cellist, and composer.Sam Jones was born in Jacksonville, FL and moved to New York city in 1955. There, Jones played with Bobby Timmons, Tiny Bradshaw, Les Jazz Modes, Kenny Dorham, Illinois Jacquet, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk...
-Tom Harrell Big Band, the Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
Nonet (1979–1981), George Russell, and the Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis was an American drummer, jazz musician and band leader. He was born Melvin Sokoloff in Buffalo, New York to Russian immigrant parents....
Orchestra (1981). From 1983-1989 he was a pivotal member of the Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
Quintet and made seven albums with the group. In addition, he recorded albums with Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Ronnie Cuber
Ronnie Cuber
Ronnie Cuber is a jazz saxophonist. He has also played in Latin, pop, rock and blues sessions. In addition to his primary instrument, baritone sax, he has also played tenor sax, soprano sax and flute, the latter on an album by Eddie Palmieri. As a leader, Cuber is known for hard bop and Latin jazz...
, Bob Brookmeyer
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Bob Berg
Bob Berg
Bob Berg was a jazz saxophonist originally from Brooklyn, New York City. He started his musical education at the age of six when he began studying classical piano. He began playing the saxophone at the age of thirteen. Bob Berg was a Juilliard graduate influenced heavily by the late 1964–67 period...
, Bobby Shew
Bobby Shew
-Biography:After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet with the NORAD band in Colorado Springs and on tour. After leaving the Army, Shew joined Tommy Dorsey's band and then played with the Woody Herman and then the Buddy Rich Big Bands in the mid-to-late...
, Ivan Paduart, Joe Lovano
Joe Lovano
Joseph Salvatore "Joe" Lovano is a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world's premiere tenor saxophone players, earning a Grammy award and several nods on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls...
, Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
's Liberation Orchestra, Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
, Charles McPherson, Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle , is an African-American operatic soprano known for her agile and light voice and her silvery, pure tone. Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid 1970s. She made her opera debut in...
among others.
Since 1989 Harrell has led his own groups, usually quintets but occasionally expanded ensembles such as chamber orchestra with strings and big bands. He has appeared at virtually every major jazz club and festival venues, and recorded under his own name for such record labels as RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, Contemporary Records
Contemporary Records
Contemporary Records was a jazz record label founded by Lester Koenig in 1951 in Los Angeles. Contemporary was known for seminal recordings embodying the West Coast sound, but also released recordings based in New York...
, Pinnacle, Blackhawk, Criss Cross, SteepleChase
Steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
, Chesky
Chesky Records
Chesky Records is a record label aimed primarily at audiophiles. For the most part, jazz, Latin jazz, classical, and adult contemporary CDs and DVDs are produced, but they also manufacture high end audio equipment. The label was founded and is run by grammy nominated composer David Chesky and his...
, and HighNote Records
HighNote Records
HighNote Records is an American record label based in New York City, specializing in jazz music.HighNote was founded by Joe Fields, who worked for Prestige Records as an executive in the 1960s and founded Muse Records in the 1970s. He co-founded HighNote and its sister label, Savant Records, in...
. He received a Grammy nomination for his big band album, Time's Mirror
Time's Mirror
Time's Mirror is a 1999 big band album by jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger, Tom Harrell. Harrell received a Grammy nomination for this album in 2000....
.
Harrell is a prolific arranger and composer. He has arranged for Vince Guaraldi
Vince Guaraldi
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Guaraldi was an Italian American jazz musician and pianist noted for his innovative compositions and arrangements and for composing music for animated adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip...
's work on Peanuts, Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, Arturo O'Farrill
Arturo O'Farrill
Arturo O'Farrill is a pianist, the son of Latin jazz musician and bandleader Chico O'Farrill. He formerly worked with Carla Bley and eventually took over his father's band. Arturo went on to form the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, which played at Lincoln Center. Under his direction the group recorded...
's Latin Jazz Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra
Metropole Orchestra
The Metropole Orchestra is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz big band and symphony orchestra...
, Danish Radio Big Band, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Elisabeth Kontomanou with the Orchestre National de Lorraine, among others. His compositions have been recorded by other notable jazz artists including Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, Joe Lovano
Joe Lovano
Joseph Salvatore "Joe" Lovano is a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world's premiere tenor saxophone players, earning a Grammy award and several nods on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls...
, Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
, Chris Potter
Chris Potter
Christopher or Chris Potter may refer to:*Chris Potter *Christopher Potter *Chris Potter *Chris Potter *Christopher Potter, English academic and clergyman*Chris Potter , Dean of St Asaph...
, Tom Scott
Tom Scott
Tom Scott may refer to:*Tom Scott , New Zealand cartoonist*Tom Scott , member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame*Tom Scott , coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball program...
, Steve Kuhn
Steve Kuhn
Steve Kuhn is an American jazz pianist, composer and trio leader.-Biography:He began studying piano at the age of five and studied under Boston piano teacher Margaret Chaloff, mother of jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff, who taught him the "Russian style" of piano playing. At an early age he...
, Kenny Werner
Kenny Werner
Kenny Werner is an American jazz pianist.-Biography:Kenny Werner is a world-class pianist and composer. His prolific output of compositions, recordings and publications continue to impact audiences around the world....
and Hank Jones
Hank Jones
Henry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
.
Tom Harrell Quintet
In contrast to his signature recordings during the RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
/BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
years (1996–2003) where much of his focus was on projects involving large ensembles, big bands and chamber orchestras, Harrell's more recent works demonstrate his skills as a leader of a tight, smaller unit. Harrell has made four albums with the current quintet of six years, which comprises tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery
Wayne Escoffery
Wayne Escoffery is a jazz saxophonist based in New York City.-Performing history:Since 2000 he has been working in New York City with Carl Allen, Eric Reed, and the Charles Mingus Big Band. Other musicians performed with include Ralph Peterson, Ben Riley, Ron Carter, Rufus Reid, Bill Charlap,...
, pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Ugonna Okegwo (whom Harrell has employed consistently since 1997), and drummer Johnathan Blake. The group is noted for its strong chemistry between the musicians and the distinctive sound achieved primarily through Harrell's compositions that combine memorable and accessible melodies with complex but groove-based rhythms and sophisticated harmonic textures. Harrell's current quintet differs from previous editions of quintets he has formed and worked with, in the use of Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano. Harrell's 2010 recording, Roman Nights, received his fourth SESAC
SESAC
SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the...
Jazz Award. In May 2011, the group's latest album, The Time of the Sun, will be released from Highnote Records
HighNote Records
HighNote Records is an American record label based in New York City, specializing in jazz music.HighNote was founded by Joe Fields, who worked for Prestige Records as an executive in the 1960s and founded Muse Records in the 1970s. He co-founded HighNote and its sister label, Savant Records, in...
.
Despite his well-documented schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, Harrell has successfully coped with the illness through medication and has become an influential figure as a jazz trumpeter and composer. He has been recorded on over 260 albums (according to the discography on his website) and continues to actively compose, record and tour extensively around the world.
Harrell has won numerous awards and grants, including multiple Trumpeter of the Year awards from Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine, SESAC
SESAC
SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the...
Jazz Award, BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
) Composers Award, and Prix Oscar du Jazz.
Harrell's work as composer and jazz soloist has been published in a number of books by Hal Leonard,Jamey Aebersold
Jamey Aebersold
Jamey Aebersold is an American jazz saxophonist and music educator. His "Play-A-Long" series of instructional book and CD collections, using the chord-scale system, the first of which was released in 1967, are an internationally renowned resource for jazz education...
, Sher Music, and Gerard and Sarzin.
Harrell is currently represented by Addeo Music International (AMI)
Addeo Music International (AMI)
Addeo Music International is an international jazz booking agency established in 2008 that works with a number of internationally acclaimed artists. AMI develops its artists through focused touring initiatives and management of international performances through a network of AMI-affiliated...
.
As leader
- 2011 : The Time of the Sun
- 2010 : Roman Nights
- 2009 : Prana Dance
- 2007 : Light On
- 2007 : Humanity
- 2003 : Wise Children
- 2002 : Live at the Village VanguardLive at the Village Vanguard (Tom Harrell album)Live at the Village Vanguard is a Tom Harrell album recorded for RCA with Harrell's then quintet and released in 2002.The band included Jimmy Greene on tenor sax, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, Xavier Davis on piano and Quincy Davis on drums....
- 2001 : Paradise
- 1999 : Time's Mirror
- 1998 : The Art of Rhythm
- 1996 : Labyrinth
- 1995 : Cape Verde
- 1994 : Upswing
- 1992 : Visions
- 1992 : Sail Away - live in Paris
- 1991 : Form
- 1991 : Moon and Sand
- 1990 : Form
- 1989 : Sail AwaySail Away (Tom Harrell album)Sail Away is an album by jazz trumpeter and composer Tom Harrell, recorded in 1989 and re-released in 2003. The album includes a composition by Harrell by the same title....
- 1989 : Lonely Eyes
- 1988 : Stories
- 1987 : Open Air
- 1986 : Sundance
- 1985 : Moon Alley
- 1984 : Play of Light
- 1979 : Look to the Sky
- 1978 : Mind's ear
- 1976 : Aurora
As sideman
With Horace Silver- Silver 'n BrassSilver 'n BrassSilver 'n Brass is an album by jazz pianist Horace Silver released on the Blue Note label in 1975 featuring performances by Silver with Tom Harrell, Bob Berg, Ron Carter, Al Foster, Bob Cranshaw, and Bernard Purdie with an overdubbed brass section arranged by Wade Marcus featuring Oscar Brashear,...
(Blue NoteBlue noteIn jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
, 1975)
With George Gruntz
George Gruntz
George Gruntz is a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist and composer most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Phil Woods, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin and Mel Lewis.From 1972 to 1994 he served as artistic director for...
- TheatreTheatre (album)Theatre is an album by Swiss pianist, composer, and arranger George Gruntz's Concert Jazz Band '83 recorded in 1983 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECMECM- Business :* Electronic Contract Manufacturing, a term related to the outsourcing of electronic assembly* Enterprise content management, a strategy in the information technology industry* Equity capital markets, a financial term- Electronics :...
, 1983)
With Joe Lovano
Joe Lovano
Joseph Salvatore "Joe" Lovano is a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world's premiere tenor saxophone players, earning a Grammy award and several nods on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls...
- Village RhythmVillage RhythmVillage Rhythm is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano recorded in 1988 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:...
(Soul Note, 1988) - Quartets: Live at the Village VanguardQuartets: Live at the Village VanguardQuartets: Live at the Village Vanguard is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1994 and 1995 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1994)