Harrell

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.

Tom Harrell has had a lot of success with his series of quintet recordings for HighNote, but his fifth release for the label, which uses the same musicians as the first four CDs (tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Johnathan Blake), takes a different path, featuring the full band on four of the eleven tracks, then in various configurations from solo to duo, trio, and quartet.

An absolutely exceptional recording session: Dado Moroni, maybe the most popular Italian pianist in the world at present time performs with the great trumpeter Tom Harrell with his incomparable style, considered by many people as one of the most important musician and composer of the recent jazz history. The quality of the expression is very high. The CD is provided of lyricism and creative energy to celebrate “pure jazz”. The great swing, the exceptional timing and the crystal musical talent of Dado Moroni, the expressive intensity and the personal inspired Tom Harrell phrasing are only few of the ingredients of this recording. From the liner note of the album : Tom Harrell and Dado Moroni tell their stories simply and authentically. There is a tough relationship between the two musicians, a silent and deeply-felt understanding that spans throughout the entire CD.]/quote]

Jim Hall Trio featuring Tom Harrell - These Rooms (1988) {Denon CY-30002}
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© 1988 Denon / Nippon Columbia | CY-30002
Jazz / Cool / Post Bop / Guitar / Flugelhorn

This 1988 studio date is one of the overlooked treasures in the considerable discography of Jim Hall, possibly due to the label's low-key promotion and less than eye-catching cover art. It is easy to understand why artists like Art Farmer and Paul Desmond omitted a pianist after hearing a release such as this one, because it would only clutter Hall's soft yet complete accompaniment. Joined by Tom Harrell (heard mostly on flügelhorn), bassist Steve LaSpina, and drummer Joey Baron, this CD is a delight from start to finish. The interaction of the musicians in the opener, a lively, waltzing "With a Song in My Heart," makes it sound like they have been a working unit for years.

If these performances of Beethoven's earlier Piano Trios by Itzhak Perlman, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Lynn Harrell are suave and sophisticated with a soupçon of sentimentality, well, that's what modern performance practice was like in the '80s. And if that sounds like an appealing manner in which to perform Beethoven's earlier Piano Trios, this is the recording to hear. Perlman, Ashkenazy, and Harrell lean into Beethoven's music, singing everything grandly, sounding everything gloriously, and souping everything up completely. One might argue that Beethoven's Piano Trios, Op. 1, are too Viennese High Classical to respond well to their approach, that the works seem more maimed and mauled then persuasively performed, but one cannot deny that Perlman, Ashkenazy, and Harrell put every iota of their expressivity and virtuosity into their overpowering performances. EMI's early digital sound has been pleasantly remastered for this CD reissue.

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.

These are bold, incisive readings full of youthful ardor. No wilting-violet Schubert here. Ashkenazy, Zukerman and Harrell play with imagination and commitment in both works; there is never a hint of routine, of three virtuosi just going through the motions for the sake of producing a star-studded recording. This has lately become my favored recording of these impoderably and inexhaustibly beautiful trios.