Jazz Articles about Donald Harrison

Esperanza Spalding: Esperanza

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 23, 2009

Ha un nome che è una dichiarazione d'intenti: Esperanza. Ha bruciato le tappe di una carriera che a soli 24 anni può dirsi formidabile. Contrabbassista, insegnante di contrabbasso a 20 anni al Berklee College, ha suonato con Stanley Clarke, Pat Metheny e Joe Lovano, per citare i più grandi. Poi ha pensato di fare da sé. E per il suo esordio, Esperanza, non ha badato a fronzoli. La Heads Up le ha dato credito e “speranza". Niño Josele, James Haddad, ...

Esperanza Spalding: Esperanza

by Woodrow Wilkins
July 9, 2008

From a guest appearance on Stanley Clarke's The Toys of Men (Heads Up, 2007) to her self-titled debut, Esperanza Spalding is turning heads, and opening lots of ears. After an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, the host called the 23-year-old vocalist/bassist/composer “the coolest guest" he'd ever had. Spalding is indeed cool, having enrolled at Berklee College of Music at 16, and ultimately becoming the institution's youngest professor in its history. She landed gigs with Patti ...

Esperanza Spalding: Esperanza

by Ernest Barteldes
June 4, 2008

On this major label debut, bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding demonstrates plenty of eclecticism, taking on styles ranging from samba, hard-driving jazz and R&B, a risky combination in less confident hands. However, Spalding revels in the multiple directions without ever sounding pretentious. The Berklee College alum opens the disc singing in fluent Portuguese, with a small hint of an accent, on “Ponta de Areia," a Milton Nascimento/Fernando Brandt composition originally featured on Wayne Shorter's Native Dancer and often covered ...

Esperanza Spalding: Esperanza

by Jeff Winbush
May 17, 2008

For the purist who wants to know what all the excitement is about Esperanza Spalding, they can skip directly to track 11--"If That's True"--of her sophomore album Esperanza, where she works out on the acoustic bass in an all-out jam with Donald Harrison on alto saxophone and Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet. It flat-out smokes, and showcases the Berklee-trained bassist as potentially one of the more promising young talents in jazz. First though, she's going to have to ...

Donald Harrison, Jr. Quartet in Denver

by Geoff Anderson
January 25, 2008

Donald Harrison, Jr. Quartet Dazzle Nightclub Denver, Colorado January 17, 2008

Genetics has a concept called “hybrid vigor," which means that you get much healthier and more vital offspring when the parents are not closely related. Basically, that's why you shouldn't marry your sister. Donald Harrison, Jr. is a master at marrying diverse musical varieties which, in turn, yields vigorous, even vivacious musical progeny. Thursday night at Dazzle, Harrison displayed the results of ...

Donald Harrison: The Survivor

by John Barron
June 5, 2007

Donald Harrison has earned premiere status in the jazz world as an inventive improviser with a highly personalized voice. His command of the alto saxophone is second to none and his contributions as a genre-hopping composer are compelling to discerning and casual listeners alike. On The Survivor, recorded for the German Nagel Hayer label, the Art Blakey alumnus takes a brazen leap into the world of modern funk with the support of venerable piano giant Mulgrew Miller and open-minded youngsters ...

Donald Harrison: Free Style; New York Cool

by Russ Musto
December 17, 2005

Donald Harrison is one of the most confident and convincing improvisers in jazz today. The boundary leaping New Orleans alto saxophonist's distinctive broad toned sound is immediately recognizable as his own, regardless of the environment in which it is being heard, be it bebop, hard bop, New Orleans R & B or funk. Harrison has managed to forge his variegated influences and extensive experience into a uniquely personal style. These discs feature the Art Blakey alumnus with two different groups ...