Jazz Articles about Tom Harrell

Tom Harrell: Wise Children

by Jim Santella
November 10, 2003

Adding four exceptional vocalists to his program, trumpeter Tom Harrell takes the listener on a journey through time and space. Contemporary world music, 30-year-old funk, swinging stage band arrangements, and the burning presence of his horn, color Harrell’s program with authority. The ten pieces are his compositions. The quintet, which includes Jimmy Greene, Xavier Davis, Ugonna Okegwo and Quincy Davis, provides a firm foundation upon which the trumpeter and special guests stand confidently.

While Harrell and his ...

Tom Harrell: Wise Children

by Eric J. Iannelli
November 3, 2003

The nicest thing you could say about trumpeter Tom Harrell's Wise Children, unfortunately, is that you've heard it all before. "Straight to My Heart" with guest diva Dianne Reeves sounds like every smooth jazz ballad put to tape during the 1970s and '80s; and its irritating blandness is merely exacerbated by some abysmally cliché lyrics penned by Kami Lyle. As much as I appreciate Reeve's voice (especially on her Blue Note outings), I don’t see how she is well served ...

Tom Harrell: Live at the Village Vanguard

by Jack Bowers
September 1, 2002

If Tom Harrell had written nothing more than “Sail Away” he’d still rank high on this writer’s personal list of notable Jazz composers. He didn’t stop there, of course, and seven of the eight songs that comprise this tasteful concert performance at New York’s Village Vanguard are his (the other is Matt Dennis / Tom Adair’s poignant “Everything Happens to Me,” played as a duet with pianist Xavier Davis).Harrell’s compositions, as is usually the case, are consistently lyrical ...

Tom Harrell: Sail Away

by William Grim
August 1, 2002

Sail Away is one of trumpeter/composer Tom Harrell’s best efforts and features a wide range of his original material. The album starts off with “Eons,” a fast tempo bop tune that features tenor sax and trumpet solos. Harrell is at his most Chet Baker-like in “Glass Mystery,” a slow ballad with inspired solos from Baker and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano.

The album’s title track “Sail Away” is a lovely bossa nova with a haunting melody and interesting modulations. ...

Tom Harrell: Live at the Village Vanguard

by C. Michael Bailey
May 7, 2002

A Jazz Prometheus, unbound...

Tom Harrell is the John Forbes Nash, Jr. of jazz. Against considerable odds, Harrell has successfully struggled with schizophrenia and become one of the most respected trumpeters and composers of the past 30 years. On his first live recording, Harrell squirts out a treasure trove of new material supplemented with the single (and most appropriate) “Everything Happens To Me." The results are as uniformly fine as we listeners have come to expect from this master.

Here, ...

Tom Harrell: Paradise

by Jack Bowers
October 1, 2001

Tom Harrell knows a lovely melody when he hears one, and has written several on his new album, Paradise, an ambitious enterprise that must have been a labor of love, as it is unlikely to earn the sort of recognition (Grammy Award nomination, etc.) he garnered with last year’s big–band release, Time’s Mirror. Which is not to say it’s less admirable than that one, only different. On Paradise, Harrell uses a core sextet augmented by strings to blend Jazz, classical ...

Tom Harrell: Paradise

by David Adler
July 1, 2001

This is probably Tom Harrell’s most unusual work to date, and strictly speaking, the least “jazz"-oriented. Enlisting a string quintet and harp in addition to his regular jazz sextet, Harrell pushes his compositional and arranging chops to new levels, and continues to blow great trumpet. The sound of strings and jazz ensemble immediately calls to mind Ted Nash’s Double Quartet. But Harrell has his own approach to orchestration, and his own melodic trademarks. One could think of this album as ...