Darryll Harper

Released in 1975 (and known in the U.S. as When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease), HQ was the eighth solo album from Roy Harper, and a high-water mark for him commercially and critically (as well as a personal favorite). Harper was already coming off two stellar efforts in Lifemask (1973) and Valentine (1974), which marked yet another artistic peak and his introduction to American audiences.

This series of live discs mark the first recordings of what became the regular working quintet of the criminally underrated saxophonist, composer and bandleader Billy Harper. With bassist Louie Spears the new addition to the line-up, three distinct concerts were recorded on Harper's spring, 1991 tour of the Far East and released separately without any duplication of material. Volume One comes from Pusan, Korea on April 27 and while the sound isn't the best – the bass and drums are muted and lack crispness – the extremely high quality of the music and interaction between the players more than compensates.

Drummer Winard Harper leads a fine hard bop quintet on Trap Dancer, which consists of five standards and a variety of obscure originals, including one song apiece from Gary Bartz and Jimmy Heath. Trumpeter Patrick Rickman, tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen, and pianist George Cables take consistently worthwhile solos, and although there are a couple brief percussion pieces ("Oamara" and "Allahu Akbra"), Harper does not feature himself all that much except in support of the lead voices…

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page backs Harper up on this album and earns co-billing for his trouble. The guitar interplay turns out to be the highlight of the album. Harper displays a nihilistic attitude toward everything in general, and quite a few things in particular…