Tom Harrell Upswing

It has been quite a journey for Tom Harrell after commencing his professional career playing trumpet in Stan Kenton's band in 1969. He recorded his first album as a leader in 1976 and currently has 30 albums under his belt including "Moving Picture." It has been written that Tom has participated in 260 recordings but they may include arranging as well which is another (sometimes overlooked) facet of his prodigious talent. Since signing with HighNote Records in 2007 Tom has been working primarily with a quintet but kept things fresh with a quartet recording,"Trip," a two-bass sextet on "Colors Of A Dream" and the critically acclaimed "First Impresssions" which featured a nearly classical chamber ensemble playing the music of Debussy and Ravel. With "Moving Picture" Tom leads a quartet where he is the only horn, giving his legions of fans the pleasure of hearing more of his solo work backed by this venerable jazz format.

Ace trumpeter Tom Harrell’s new recording, Infinity, brims with uncomplicated structures, harmonic sophistication, nervy improvisations, and a mix of kaleidoscopic hard-bop and straight ahead post-bop influences. The album comprises ten Harrell compositions subjected to wonderful musical treatments by a hot quintet that includes Mark Turner, Charles Altura, Ben Street and Johnathan Blake.

The latest ECM album to feature pianist Ethan Iverson – following last year’s duo recording with saxophonist Mark Turner, Temporary Kings, and two lauded discs with the Billy Hart Quartet – presents the Brooklyn-based artist at the head of his own quartet in a program of standards and blues, recorded live at Manhattan’s famed Village Vanguard. Iverson’s quartet for Common Practice features as its prime melodic voice the veteran Tom Harrell, who was voted Trumpeter of the Year in 2018 by the U.S. Jazz Journalists Association.

This CD is most notable for featuring ten of trumpeter Tom Harrell's compositions. Few of the melodies from the harmonically advanced originals will stick in one's mind after one or two listens, but the solos are excellent (and in Harrell's case, often exquisite) and the generally melancholy moods of the advanced hard bop pieces are memorable in their own way. In addition to Harrell, Joe Lovano is in fine form on tenor, soprano and alto, Cheryl Pyle's two guest appearances on flute are a bonus and the rhythm section is supportive and alert with pianist Danilo Perez emerging as a major soloist, taking the title cut as a lyrical free improvisation duet with Harrell. An intriguing and thought-provoking session.

Recorded in 1989 and re-released on Original Jazz Classics in 2003, Sail Away is a fine outing by trumpeter Tom Harrell. He's joined by pianist James Williams, bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Adam Nussbaum. A handful of guests – flutist Cheryl Pyle, guitarist John Abercrombie, tenor Joe Lovano, and soprano Dave Liebman – fill out the arrangements on ten instrumentals (two are bonus cuts from Visions). Together, Harrell and company add a contemporary spin to mainstream jazz. The ten-minute track "Dream in June" takes a number of adventurous flights of fancy without ever losing track of its base. Both Harrell and Abercrombie's solos build complex, forceful ideas against a backdrop of Nussbaum's powerful drumming, creating a dense sound that belies predictability.

Colors of a Dream is the sixth HighNote Records album by trumpeter-composer Tom Harrell, featuring two basses played by Ugonna Okegwo and Esperanza Spalding, with the latter doubling on vocal, Jaleel Shaw on alto saxophone, Wayne Escoffery on tenor saxophone, and Johnathan Blake on drums. According to JazzTimes, this album deviates from Harrell's previous works. The use of piano is absent, and the three horns often play in block-chord formation. There are hints of Latin jazz, R&B and indie-rock. According to the review, "Colors of a Dream may deviate, but it never disappoints."

Tom Harrell - The Art Of Rhythm (1998) {RCA Victor 09026-68924-2 rec 1997}
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© 1998 RCA Victor / BMG | 09026-68924-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Straight-Ahead Jazz / Trumpet

Best known as a superior and advanced cool-toned trumpeter, Tom Harrell shows throughout this consistently brilliant set that he has also developed into an excellent composer and a particularly talented arranger. All ten songs and arrangements are his, and the music both swings and is quite original. Harrell doubles on flügelhorn and utilizes a wide variety of interesting musicians, including clarinetist Greg Tardy (who plays beautifully on the opening "Petals Danse"), acoustic guitarist Romero Lumbambo (heard on the more Brazilian-oriented numbers), the great free bop tenor Dewey Redman, pianist Danilo Perez, electric guitarist Mike Stern, tenorman David Sanchez, and several strings (including Regina Carter) among others.