A sonic exploration and tonal analysis of contemporary creative music in a myriad of improvisational/composed settings, textures, and expressions.
Welcome to Sound Projections
I'm your host Kofi Natambu. This online magazine features the very best in contemporary creative music in this creative timezone NOW (the one we're living in) as well as that of the historical past. The purpose is to openly explore, examine, investigate, reflect on, studiously critique, and take opulent pleasure in the sonic and aural dimensions of human experience known and identified to us as MUSIC. I'm also interested in critically examining the wide range of ideas and opinions that govern our commodified notions of the production, consumption, marketing, and commercial exchange of organized sound(s) which largely define and thereby (over)determine our present relationships to music in the general political economy and culture.
Thus this magazine will strive to critically question and go beyond the conventional imposed notions
and categories of what constitutes the generic and stylistic definitions of ‘Jazz’, ‘classical music’, ‘Blues.’
'Rhythm and Blues’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Pop’, ‘Funk’, ‘Hip Hop’, etc. in order to search for what individual
artists and ensembles do cretively to challenge and transform our ingrained ideas and attitudes of what
music is and could be.
So please join me in this ongoing visceral, investigative, and cerebral quest to explore, enjoy, and pay
homage to the endlessly creative and uniquely magisterial dimensions of MUSIC in all of its guises and expressive identities.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Stefon Harris (b. March 23, 1973): Outstanding and innovative musician, composer, arranger, ensemble leader, producer, and teacher
Vibraphonist/percussionist Stefon Harris originally planned to pursue his musical ambitions as a member of the New York Philharmonic, but his first exposure to the music of Charlie Parker convinced him to play jazz instead. Emerging during the mid-'90s on sessions led by Steve Turre, Charlie Hunter, and others, he made his solo debut in 1998 with the Blue Note release A Cloud of Red Dust. The Grammy-nominated Black Action Figure followed a year later. A collaboration with labelmate, pianist Jacky Terrasson, was a defining moment for Harris.
Their week-long showcase at the Village Vanguard in summer 2001 was a
success, encouraging both artists to work together in the studio. Kindred, a set of standards woven around a few original tracks, was issued in 2001
The Grand Unification Theory pushed Harris' boundaries yet again. The 12-piece ensemble jazz suite appeared in 2003, eventually earning Harris the prestigious Martin E. Segal Award from Jazz at Lincoln Center. Dates with the Kenny Barron Quintet coincided with the spring 2004 release of Evolution. African Tarantella appeared in 2006, followed three years later by Urbanus in 2009.
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most
important young artists in jazz” (The Los Angeles Times). He is
unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career.
Stefon
Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing
virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz
scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics
alike, the 30 year-old is committed to both exploring the rich potential
of jazz composition and blazing new trails on the vibraphone.
A
graduate of The Manhattan School of Music, he received a B.A. in
Classical Music and an M.A. in jazz performance. Stefon is a recipient
of the prestigious Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and has
earned back to back to back Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Album
including The Grand Unification Theory (2003), the 2001 release of
Kindred (Blue Note) and his 1999 release of Black Action Figure (Blue
Note) for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. North Sea Jazz (Netherlands)
named Harris for the prestigious International 2002 Bird Award for
Artist Deserving Wider Recognition. He has been voted Best Mallet player
by the Jazz Journalist Association (2003, 2002, 2001 and 2000), Debut
Artist of the Year by Jazztimes, Downbeat's Critics Poll Winner for
Vibraphone and Rising Star, Vibraphone (2003) Newsweek's Best Jazz CD,
Best New Talent and 1999-2000 Readers Poll Best Vibraphonist by Jazziz
Magazine and Chicago Tribune's Debut of the Year.
Mr. Harris has
performed at many of the world's most distinguished concert halls,
including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The Kennedy Center, San
Francisco's Herbst Theater, UCLA's Royce Hall, Chicago's Symphony
Center, Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and The Sydney Opera House. He has
toured and recorded with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and
performed his original compositions with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra
in Den Hague. He has toured South Africa, Brazil and Europe performing
at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival and the Umbria
Jazz Festival, among others.
In 2001 he premiered “The Grand
Unification Theory” — a full length concert piece commissioned by The
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall which was later presented at the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center. He has also appeared at the legendary Playboy
Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and the Orange County Performing
Arts Center. Most recently Mr. Harris received a commission from The
Wharton Center for Performing Arts, Michigan State University which will
debut in 2005.
An active educator Mr. Harris conducts over 100
clinics and lectures annually at schools and universities throughout the
country. He is currently Artist in Residence at San Francisco
Performances and in 2002 at The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum in
Boston. In addition he has been an active member of the Executive Board
of Directors for Chamber Music America
“Blackout,” Stefon's new
project featuring a hybrid of acoustic music and progressive sounds
debuted its CD, Evolution in April 2004 and also embarked on a national
tour. Praised for “pursing jazz on it?s own terms” (Washington Post);
the band features Casey Benjamin (alto sax), Marc Cary (keyboards),
Darryl Hall (bass) and Terreon Gully, and has performed to sold out
crowds at The Kennedy Center and North Sea Jazz Festival.
The 2003
release of The Grand Unification Theory; an eleven movement piece
featuring Latin, Classical, African and Jazz influences earned a Grammy
nomination, JAZZIZ Critics Choice and 4 star reviews from Downbeat
Magazine, Rolling Stone and The Los Angeles Times,
His 2001 CD
Kindred earned him his second Grammy nod for Best Jazz Album. A quartet
recording with the noted pianist Jacky Terrasson Kindred is a follow-up
to his sophomore release Black Action Figure (Blue Note Records) which
was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. His
premiere as a leader, A Cloud of Red Dust, was voted Best Debut
Recording at the 1999 New York Jazz Awards.
In addition to leading
his own band, Mr. Harris has recorded as part of The Classical Jazz
Quartet, a series of jazz interpreted classics with Kenny Barron, Ron
Carter, and Lewis Nash. He has also recorded and toured with many of
music's greatest artists, including Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis,
Cassandra Wilson, Buster Williams, Kenny Barron, Charlie Hunter, Kurt
Elling, Cyrus Chestnut, Steve Coleman, and Steve Turre among many
others.
Stefon Harris' passionate artistry and
astonishing virtuosity have propelled him to the forefront of the jazz
scene. Heralded as "one of the most important artists in jazz" (Los
Angeles Times), he is a recipient of the prestigious Martin E. Segal
Award from Lincoln Center, has earned four GRAMMY™ nominations, and has
been named Best Mallet player eight times by the Jazz Journalist
Association. He was also chosen Best Vibes in the 2017 Downbeat Magazine
Critic's Poll, the 2016 Jazz Times Expanded Critics Poll, the 2014 Jazz
Times Critics Poll and the 2013 Downbeat Critics Poll.
NPR's All Things Considered praised Mr. Harris' audacious CD Urbanus,
which also earned a GRAMMY™ nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz
Album, as one of "The Year's Best New Jazz" recordings. As a member of
the SFJAZZ Collective, their 2014 CD, Wonder: The Songs of Stevie Wonder, won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album.
Mr. Harris received his Bachelor of Music
degree in classical music and Master of Music degree in jazz performance
at Manhattan School of Music (MSM). He teaches in person at
universities throughout the world and virtually via his Distance
Learning Studio, has led curriculum development at the Brubeck
Institute, and serves as Artistic Director of Jazz Education at New
Jersey Performing Arts Center. Prior to being named Associate Dean and
Director of Jazz Arts at MSM in July 2017, Mr. Harris was Visiting
Professor at Rutgers University and served on the jazz faculty of New
York University for the past decade. "The Art of Listening," part of a
series of documentaries focusing on Harris's community work in arts
education in Kalamazoo, won 3 Gold Camera awards and 3 Michigan EMMY
nominations.
As a thought leader, Mr. Harris leads
transformative presentations on corporate leadership development and
team empowerment to Fortune 50 companies using jazz as a metaphor. His
inspiring 2012 TED talk, "There Are No Mistakes on the Bandstand," has
gained over a half million views to date. Mr. Harris has served on the
Board of Directors for Chamber Music America and WBGO-FM and is
currently on the Board of Advisors for Percussive Arts Society.
Mr. Harris just recorded his eleventh album as a leader, Sonic Creed
(Motema Records) with his band Blackout that will be released in 2018.
He has also recorded as part of The Classical Jazz Quartet, with Kenny
Barron, Ron Carter (another MSM alumnus), and Lewis Nash, and toured
worldwide with his bands and as a member of the SFJAZZ Collective, as
well as recording and performing with many of music's greatest artists,
including: Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Milt Jackson, Lionel Hampton,
Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Cassandra Wilson,
Diana Krall, Dr. Billy Taylor, Max Roach (MSM alumnus), Cedar Walton,
Mulgrew Miller, Benny Golson, Bobby Watson, Chaka Khan, Kurt Elling,
Buster Williams, Dianne Reeves, Ry Cooder, Charlie Hunter, Common, and
Pablo Zeigler.
His venture into new technological advances
led to the co-founding of The Melodic Progression Institute (MPI) in
2013 with partner Clif Swiggett. With a focus on designing innovative
ways to help musicians learn and grown, MPI released its first app in
2016, Harmony Cloud™, an ear-training learning tool now available on iTunes.
Stefon Harris plays the vibraphone — and leads a jazz ensemble with a collaborative sound built on collective inspiration.
Why you should listen
Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and
astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of hte
current jazz scene. Widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and
jazz critics, Harris is committed to exploring the rich potential of
jazz composition and blazing trails on the vibraphone. His TEDTalk was performed with Jamire Williams on drums, Burniss Travis on bass, and Christian Sands on piano.
What others say
“He is open with his music and his musical process and shares all with everyone.” — Dave Schroder, Jazz Online
What
is a mistake? By talking through examples with his improvisational jazz
quartet, Stefon Harris walks us to a profound truth: many actions are
perceived as mistakes only because we don't react to them appropriately.
This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.
Stefon Harris'
passionate artistry, energetic stage presence and astonishing
virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz
scene. Widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics,
Harris is committed to exploring the rich potential of jazz composition
and blazing trails on the vibraphone. He tours with his band Blackout
and the San Francisco Jazz Collective,
and he teaches at New York University. His TEDTalk was performed with
Jamire Williams on drums, Burniss Travis on bass and Christian Sands on
piano.
"It's about being here in the moment, accepting one another and allowing creativity to flow." - Stefon Harris. Alan Klein/TED
Manhattan School of Music president James Gandre has announced
that vibraphonist Stefon Harris has been named associate dean and
director of the school’s Jazz Arts Program, effective July 2017. The
four-time Grammy Award nominee, Jazz Journalists Association Award
winner and MSM alumnus will replace Justin DiCioccio, who will leave his
position at the end of the year.
Harris, called “one of the most most important artists in jazz” by the Los Angeles Times,
has taught at schools and in programs around the world, including the
Brubeck Institute, where he led curriculum development; the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center, where he served as artistic director of jazz
education; Rutgers University, where he served as visiting professor;
and New York University, where he has been on the faculty for the past
decade. He has also taught virtually through his Distance Learning Lab
and is the co-founder of the Melodic Progression Institute, which
released Harmony Cloud, an ear-training app, in 2016.
“I am truly honored to assume the position of associate dean and
director of the jazz program at Manhattan School of Music,” Harris said
in a press release. “For nearly a century, MSM has been at the vanguard
of arts education and has consistently provided an invaluable service to
young artists. It is a community of educators and dreamers, which
nurtures some of the world’s most brilliant young minds. As a former
student, I spent the most important and transformative years of my
artistic life at MSM. It was during my time at MSM that I acquired the
musical skills necessary to articulate my story in organized sound. I
look forward to contributing to this great legacy of social empowerment
through arts education. As an educator, I am greatly inspired to have
the opportunity to play a role in helping to articulate and amplify the
voices of the next generation of great artists.”
Most recently, Harris earned an MSM Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015
and performed as a member of the MSM All Stars at the MSM’s Spring Gala
this past May.
In addition to assembling a new band, Stefon Harris has developed an app called Harmony Cloud, which helps users play by ear.Photo courtesy of the artist
Even though Stefon Harris hasn’t released an album since 2011’s Ninety Miles
(Concord), on which he shared top billing with Christian Scott and
David Sánchez, the 43-year-old vibraphonist and composer has been
extremely busy with a variety of projects. He certainly showed no signs
of artistic rust when he performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington,
D.C., April 9.
Navigating effortlessly between vibraphone and marimba, Harris
fronted his new ensemble, Sonic Creed, which includes pianist James
Francies, drummer Kendrick Scott, bassist Joshua Crumbly and flutist
Elena Pinderhughes.
Sonic Creed riveted the packed house with an exploratory, tightly
focused set that placed high stakes on rhythmic agility, communicative
alertness and spontaneous invention, starting off with a blistering
reading of Horace Silver’s “The Cape Verdean Blues.” Each member
admirably held their own next to Harris, whose virtuosic and imaginative
improvisations can certainly prove unnerving for lesser talents.
Pinderhughes was particularly impressive, retaining her sinewy tone and
assured passages in front of Scott’s blistering and extended drum solo
on “Bye Bye Blackbird,” a tune on which Harris set the tone with a
capricious, intrepid unaccompanied solo.
Following the gorgeous ballad “Let’s Take A Trip To The Sky,” Harris
gave the floor to Crumbly, who thumped an impromptu four-note ostinato
that eventually became the groundwork for the ensemble’s unexpected
rendezvous with Juan Tizol’s “Caravan.”
Francies—who just signed a contract with Blue Note Records—shined
brightly with a mesmerizing solo on “I Fall In Love Too Easily.”
Harris appeared to be having great fun throughout the concert,
especially when he engaged in cat-and-mouse rhythmic and melodic
repartee with his bandmates. Earlier that week, he had performed
“Crystal Silence” with Chick Corea at the Kennedy Center in honor of
Gary Burton at the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters concert.
In between those days, Harris gave master classes at various schools in
Washington, D.C. He spoke with DownBeat about the importance of
education in his life and why he’s not stressed out about recording a
new album.
DownBeat: How did the new ensemble, Sonic Creed, emerge?
Conceptually, I wanted to surround myself with younger musicians to
create a different type of energy. I’m someone who needs to constantly
evolve. One of the ways to do that is to change the people who are
around you so that things remain unpredictable. So I was looking for a
group of young, talented musicians to push me.
What are the some of the benefits of having an intergenerational band such as Sonic Creed?
Having the experience of playing lots of concerts and tours, you learn
more about how to connect with an audience. Studying music in isolation
doesn’t get you there. You really need to be on stage in front of
people. There’s also this interesting checks-and-balances system
associated with creativity. Sometimes younger musicians let the
creativity overwhelm the actual process of making music. We talk a lot
about the process of taking our creativity and [expressing] it in a way
that’s effective in terms of delivering our message. Ultimately, it’s
about delivering the song—creatively.
Those are some of the things that I learned from playing with Joe
Henderson [1937–2001], who was an immensely creative human being. But he
always delivered a beautiful melody that was pure and soulful. He used
the melody within the song itself as a starting point to express his
creativity.
Talk about your evolution of becoming a mentor and how that experience influences your current music.
Sonic Creed has some of the most gifted musicians in the world. So when I
think about mentoring, it’s not only about making music. There are a
lot of things that I’m learning from them as well. I’ve found in the
past 15 years that one of my true passions is education. I get up in the
middle of the night thinking about ideas of how to solve problems.
Education is really a deep-seated passion of mine.
One of the other things that I’ve been doing with my time during the
past three years is starting an app-developing company called the
Melodic Progression Institute. Our first product is called the Harmony
Cloud, which we just released a few weeks ago. You can find it on the
Apple’s app store. It’s an app that teaches musicians to play by ear.
I’ve been completely consumed in the past few years.
Your last bona fide solo disc, Urbanus, came out in 2009. Are you in the process of recording or is that something that no longer concerns you?
I’m pretty sure that we’re going to hit the studio within the next year.
I have to look at myself not as a musician. I have all of these
notebooks around my studio, where I’m always writing down thoughts.
Probably 10 years ago, I wrote something that changed my life: “I am not
a musician. I happened to have a gift, which manifests well into
music.” That was so pivotal for me, because I gave myself permission to
dream off of the bandstand and to be completely fulfilled, knowing that
I’m still manifesting my talent and gift.
So the idea of teaching, developing apps, mentoring, and culturally
contextualizing my ambition on the planet are very important to me. I
feel that’s a manifestation of my artistry. So that’s going to come out
in CDs but also through my teaching, the apps and the corporate
presentations that I’ve been doing in the past three years.
I give corporate leadership talks about team dynamics. I bring a jazz
ensemble with me. I can demonstrate musically the pitfalls of
micromanagement. You can hear it manifest in sound. I can also
demonstrate how to empower the people around you as a bandleader. It’s
about organizing the ideas around you without dictating exactly what you
want them to do. Then you become the beneficiary of everyone’s
greatness.
As an artist, I’ve been working really hard and growing tremendously. I
can honestly tell you that I feel like I’m doing exactly what I’m
supposed to be doing right now.
In
jazz circles, few things convey studious sophistication more than the
concert music of Duke Ellington. But if you really want to drive the
point home, try orchestrating that music for a chamber ensemble, with
woodwinds and strings. Then, as a tribute, compose some music for the
same group, in a similar style.
The
vibraphonist Stefon Harris has done all of these things, with earnest
diligence. His new album is "African Tarantella: Dances With Duke" (Blue
Note), and it leaves no doubt about his high regard for Ellington's
softer side. But there is a lulling quality to some of his more rarefied
interpretations; the album's strongest moments have a hint of
ruggedness in their rhythm. Mr. Harris's concert at Zankel Hall on
Wednesday night suggested a similar dichotomy.
Mr.
Harris was leading the same musical coterie as on the album, with one
substitution: Mark Vinci, a clarinetist, filling in for Greg Tardy.
Early on, he warmly introduced each member of the nine-piece ensemble,
including the cellist Louise Dubin and the violist Junah Chung, who took
no solos but made their presence felt. The core was Mr. Harris's
quartet, with Xavier Davis on piano, Derrick Hodge on bass and Terreon
Gully on drums.
Opening
with a movement from Ellington's "New Orleans Suite," Mr. Harris
introduced the first of numerous billowy, lightly contrapuntal
arrangements. The ensemble played all of them expertly, providing what
amounted to a cushion for Mr. Harris's solo exertions.
And
exertions they were, in a physical sense. Mr. Harris hovered over his
vibraphone and marimba with hummingbird movements, hands fluttering in a
blur across the keys. He had arrayed his two instruments at a right
angle, and he vigorously worked the space between them, darting back and
forth with athletic grace. Sometimes this came across as empty flash,
but when it worked -- as on "Portrait of Wellman Braud," the sort of
bossy minor blues that Mr. Harris and the trombonist Steve Turre both
eat for breakfast -- the effect was bracing.
The
evening's triumph was "African Tarantella," a whimsical original tune.
With its lilting waltz time and polyrhythmic interludes, it gave the
chamber group plenty to work with. And when Mr. Harris signaled a shift
into a strolling 4/4 swing, it delivered a thrill. So did his ensuing
solo, which had a sense of proportion to match its exuberance.
There
was less vitality to Mr. Harris's arrangements of "Sunset and the
Mocking Bird," which awkwardly oscillated between swing and R&B
grooves, and "Bourbon Street Jingling Jollies," which was weirdly
somnolent. And there was less depth to his solo vibraphone rendition of
"The Single Petal of a Rose."
Not
that Mr. Harris slacked off on that theme. Using four mallets, he
played feathery chords, and then a series of cascading single notes,
which decayed in the air like curls of smoke. There was sensitivity, and
even virtuosity, in this display. But it felt like an embroidery: too
intricate a pattern, and only on the surface. NATE CHINEN
Stefon Harris, whose The Grand Unification Theory (Blue Note, February 2003) was nominated for the 46th Grammy Awards for “Best Jazz Instrumental Album,” is a
native of Albany, New York. He began to play jazz gigs as a vibraphone
player while finishing his BA in classical percussion and MA in jazz
performance at the Manhattan School of Music. He conducted and performed
with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and recorded and performed with
artists including Joe Henderson, Charlie Hunter, Buster Williams and
Steve Coleman (The Sonic Language of Myth), and toured and
recorded with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra on
percussion. He has composed for and performed with the African / modern
dance troupe Seventh Principle Dance Company. With Cassandra Wilson he
recorded two tunes, "ESP and "Seven Steps to Heaven," for the CD Traveling Miles. In 1998 Mr. Harris made his recording debut as a leader with A Cloud of Red Dust (Blue Note Records), featuring an all-star cast. He followed with two Grammy-nominated recordings, Black Action Figure (1999) and Kindred (2001). His latest Grammy-nominated release, The Grand Unification Theory ,
features Mr. Harris leading a twelve-piece ensemble. Mr. Harris has
performed his original compositions with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra
in The Hague, and has appeared at such renowned venues as the Village
Vanguard, Troy Music Hall, and the Orange County Performing Arts Center
in California. He has performed with his quartet at the North Sea,
Istanbul, Umbria, and Playboy jazz festivals. Stefon Harris has appeared
several times at the Kennedy Center, including the January 2, 2002
“Billy Taylor's 80th Birthday Celebration,” New Year's Eve with Billy
Taylor, December 31, 2002; NPR's A Jazz Piano Christmas, December 6,
2003; and at the KC Jazz Club with his group Blackout, January 9 &
10, 2004.
“The standout vibraphonist of his generation.”— The New Yorker
“His music needs no labels like ‘postmodern’ or
‘cutting edge’. It is Stefon Harris music, as Charles Mingus, he
insisted, was Mingus music.”— Nat Hentoff, Jazz Times Magazine
Stefon Harris’ passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and
astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the
current jazz scene. Widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and
jazz critics alike, the 40-year-old is committed to both exploring the
rich potential of jazz composition and blazing new trails on the
vibraphone.
A graduate of Manhattan School of Music, Stefon received a B.M. in
Classical Music and a M.M. in Jazz Performance. He is a recipient of the
prestigious Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and has earned
three consecutive Grammy nominations including Best Jazz Album for The
Grand Unification Theory (2003) and the 2001 release of Kindred (Blue
Note) and his 1999 release of Black Action Figure (Blue Note) for Best
Jazz Instrumental Solo. North Sea Jazz (Netherlands) named Harris for
the prestigious International 2002 Bird Award for Artist Deserving Wider
Recognition. He has been voted Best Mallet player by 2004 Jazz Times
Critics Poll, and by the Jazz Journalist Association (2005, 2004, 2003,
2002, 2001 & 2000), Debut Artist of the Year by Jazz Times, Chicago
Tribune’s Debut of the Year and Downbeat’s Critics Poll Winner for
Vibraphone and Rising Star, Vibraphone (2006, 2004, 2003) Newsweek’s
Best Jazz CD, Best New Talent and 1999-2000 Readers Poll Best
Vibraphonist by Jazziz Magazine.
Mr. Harris has performed at many of the world’s most distinguished
concert halls, including the Carnegie Hall debut of African
Tarantella... Dances with Duke (2006 Blue Note), Lincoln Center’s Alice
Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center, San Francisco’s Herbst Theater, UCLA’s
Royce Hall, Chicago’s Symphony Center, Detroit’s Orchestra Hall, and The
Sydney Opera House. In June 2007, his quartet performed a retrospective
of his original compositions with the Jazz Sinfonica Orquestra in Sao
Paulo, Brasil. He has toured and recorded with the Chamber Music Society
of Lincoln Center and performed his original compositions with the
Dutch Metropole Orchestra in Den Hague. He has toured South Africa,
Brazil and Europe performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Istanbul
Jazz Festival, and the Umbria Jazz Festival among others. In 2001 he
premiered The Grand Unification Theory a full length concert piece
commissioned by The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall which was later
presented at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He has also appeared
at the legendary Playboy Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, and the
Orange County Performing Arts Center. In March 2005 Mr. Harris debuted
Suite Moments a special commission from The Wharton Center for
Performing Arts, Michigan State University.
In May 2006 he premiered Portraits of The Promised, commissioned by
Fontana Chamber Arts for People’s Church Sesquincentennial Celebration
in Kalamazoo, MI which later became the subject of a WGVU-PBS (Grand
Rapids, MI) television special. He joined the San Francisco Jazz
Collective in 2007 with whom he tours in addition to leading his band
Blackout and special projects.
An active educator Mr. Harris conducts clinics and lectures
throughout the country. He currently teaches at New York University and
is Artist in Residence at Fontana Chamber Arts (Kalamazoo, MI) and
University of Nebraska, Lincoln and has held similar posts with San
Francisco Performances, The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston
and The Monk Institute in Los Angeles. He created a unique interactive
program with poets from around the world at the University of Iowa’s
famed International Writer’s Workshop. He returned there in September
2004 to participate in “The Life of Discovery” as part of a statewide
celebration of arts and humanities. Harris has served on the Executive
Board of Directors for Chamber Music America and the Board of Directors
for WBGO-FM (Newark, NJ) was a Resource Leader for International
Association of Jazz Educators.
Named one of the Top Ten CDs in 2006 by the Philadelphia Inquirer,
Harris’ latest recording, African Tarantella... Dances with Duke (Blue
Note) brings a modern arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “New Orleans
Suite” and “Queen Suite” along with selections from Harris’ “The Gardner
Meditations”. The latter suite was part of a commission by The Wharton
Center for Performing Arts at Michigan State University. Late summer
2009 Mr. Harris will release the anticipated follow up CD to the
acclaimed Evolution, the Top Ten recording with his band Blackout, a
musical hybrid of acoustic and progressive sounds praised for “pursing
jazz on it’s own terms” (Washington Post). Evolution was also named to
the 2004 Jazz Times Top 50 CDs. The 2003 release of The Grand
Unification Theory an eleven movement suite featuring latin, classical,
African and jazz influences earned a Grammy nomination, JAZZIZ Critics
Choice and 4 star reviews from Downbeat Magazine, Rolling Stone and The
Los Angeles Times, His 2001 CD Kindred earned him his second Grammy nod
for Best Jazz Album. A quartet recording with the noted pianist Jacky
Terrasson Kindred is a follow-up to his sophomore release Black Action
Figure (Blue Note Records), also nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz
Instrumental Solo. His premiere as a leader, A Cloud of Red Dust, was
voted Best Debut Recording at the 1999 New York Jazz Awards. In addition
to leading his own band, Mr. Harris has recorded as part of The
Classical Jazz Quartet, a series of jazz interpreted classics with Kenny
Barron, Ron Carter, and Lewis Nash. He has also recorded and toured
with many of music’s greatest artists, including Joe Henderson, Wynton
Marsalis, David Sanborn, Cassandra Wilson, Buster Williams, Kenny
Barron, Charlie Hunter, Kurt Elling, Cyrus Chestnut, Steve Coleman, and
Steve Turre among many others.
If
there was a style of jazz that vibist Stefon Harris did not address
Tuesday night at the Jazz Showcase, it probably hasn't been heard of
yet. From early blues to other-worldly experimentation, from
straight-ahead swing to bracing modernism, Harris flitted among genres
as if ravenous to try them all -- often within the course of a single
improvisation
Most
jazz listeners would acknowledge Harris ranks among the most dynamic
and intensely communicative vibists working today. The alacrity of his
technique and the keenness of his ear may place him in a category of his
own. And the music that he and this edition of his Blackout band
played during the first set Tuesday showed how far the vibist has come
from his wunderkind years, not so long ago. Having worked his way
through a litany of instrumental techniques and idioms, he's pushing
ahead into more original fare, forging freewheeling improvisations that
change direction and style without warning. The evening's first
extended set piece, in fact, was less a bona fide composition than a
series of explosive gestures linked by a fragment of a theme or two.
Though the band opened with the funk-tinged rhythms and dance-beat
aesthetic of "Red-Bone Nitti-Bone" -- from the bracing new CD
"Evolution" -- it wasn't long before Harris stepped in with an explosive
solo summing up a remarkably broad arsenal of techniques and tone colors. Offering sweetly stated tintinnabulation at one moment,
hard-hitting and angular lines the next, Harris temporarily made the
rest of the band seem redundant. Part of what distinguishes
Blackout is its ability to convey tremendous force without devolving
into mere noise, to achieve unstoppable rhythmic momentum without
settling into predictable patterns. Some of the most dramatically
charged music came from alto saxophonist Casey Benjamin, who articulated
cogent, piercing lines. When Benjamin processed his sound through a
synthesizer, he vividly extended the expressive range of his instrument.
Fat reverbs, unabashed echo effects, comic wah-wah sounds -- it all
radically altered the sound of this band without compromising the
integrity of the musicmaking. Drummer Terreon Gully hardly could
have played more emphatically in this setting, his hard attacks and
street-beat approach placing him near the center of the band's sound,
while bassist Vincente Archer provided an unyielding pulse and keen harmonic framework. Pianist
Alan Palmer -- performing with the band for the first time -- managed
to hold his own, and then some, providing an exquisite touch on piano and sinuous, atmospheric riffs on electric keyboard. Stefon Harris and Blackout perform through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20-$25; 312-670-2473. ---------- hreich@tribune.com
Multiple Grammy-nominated composer, vibraphonist and marimbist Stefon
Harris says that he often prefers to create his melodies sans
instruments. “Many times I’ll sit in a park and close my eyes and listen
to several conversations and the sounds going on around me. There are
really interesting patterns that arise that I could never imagine on my
own. So music is not really about being creative, it’s about discovery
of what’s already there.”
Harris is readying the release of his latest CD for Concord Records.
The title, Urbanus, signifies “pertaining to the city” in Latin. Harris
says that it represents both the origins of his musicians and their
genre. “Jazz has flourished in the urban environment with the diversity
of an urban community -- the confluence of cultures. It’s not a
one-dimensional art form. You have jazz that has been influenced by
Cuban music, Bach, Stravinsky and Stevie Wonder. It’s a music that is
wide open and an unbelievable palette for the expression of a variety of
cultures.”
Born in New York City in 1973, Harris trained in the classics and
fell in love with jazz at the Manhattan School of music. While his
compositions are central to all his projects, he notes that for Urbanus,
members of his band, Blackout, also composed as well. It is an
outgrowth of an inclusive philosophy. “If I was a dictator I wouldn’t
be a jazz bandleader. If I told everyone what I wanted I would only get
what I asked for – and I wouldn’t be getting the best out of the people
who worked for me. I want everyone to feel like it’s their band, and
they have ownership in what we do. When they’re comfortable in that way,
they give every bit of passion they can. The more freedom I allow, the
more expansive the music is – not just the music, but my potential
growth, because I learn from the people around me.”
And this sense of expansion carries on to his choice of his
performing rights organization. Harris testifies that he has been with
SESAC since the advent of his career. “I have never felt like a
stepchild. When I first talked to them, I felt that jazz was a priority.
With SESAC, you feel like you are a part of a family. That hasn’t
changed over the years. It’s been a fantastic experience.”
Since
his 1998 Blue Note recording debut as a leader, A CLOUD OF RED DUST,
vibraphonist Stefon Harris has been heralded as “one of the most
important young artists in Jazz”. While continuing to honor the trail
laid before him by masters such as Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson and
Bobby Hutcherson, Stefon has been blazing new trails of his own as
composer / bandleader and vibraphonist. Recently nominated for a grammy
for his current recording URBANUS, his 7th as a leader and his first on
Concord Records, Harris and his stellar band BLACKOUT (Marc Cary, Casey
Benjamin, Terron Gully, Ben Williams) have developed a sound rooted in
modern Jazz while incorporating melodies and rhythms of R&B and pop
and the swagger and grooves of Hip Hop. When not performing with
BlackOut Stefon stays busy with the San Francisco Jazz Collective, the
Classical Jazz Quartet, and as an educator conducting lectures and
clinics throughout the country. In 1999 Stefon and I had a chance to sit
and talk about his new recording at that time, BLACK ACTION FIGURE and a
lot more. Following is the result of that conversation…
One of the delights in Jazz last year (1998) was the debut recording
of vibraphonist Stefon Harris. Although he’d been a featured sideman
over the past few years, performing and/or recording with Max Roach’s
percussion group M’Boom, Wynton Marsalis, Greg Osby, Bobby Watson, Joe
Henderson, and other notables,
Stefon’s star began to shine brighter with the release of his Blue Note
premier A CLOUD OF RED DUST. Reflecting on his first recording as a
leader Stefon notes “That’s music that was composed when I was in
college, so, you know, you get to college and you’re in this real
pensive state. A lot of the music in that record is based on literature I
had read and philosophies that were coming about.”
With a brand new recording out now, BLACK ACTION FIGURE, and a new
band Stefon stopped in the Bay Area for a sit down with yours truly, and
it went a little something like this….
G1: Congratulations on the success of your debut disc, A
CLOUD OF RED DUST, from last year, and the release of your newest
recording BLACK ACTION FIGURE. Where did that name (Black Action Figure)
come from?
STEFON: (Laughing) I knew everyone was going to ask
me about that. Man, you know, the record is just a really fun record and
I wanted to have a title that reflected that. The song has this kind of
military type beat, but it’s like a real funky kind of beat, almost
like a Black G.I. Joe type vibe so I call it Black Action Figure. It’s
just really supposed to be a fun title.
G1: Yeah, it reminded me of some toys I had when I was a kid.
STEFON: (Laughing) Yeah, right! Right!
G1: Nowadays we see a lot of young musicians coming
through Jazz, mostly horn players and piano players. What is it that
made you decide on vibes as your choice of voice?
STEFON: I think it’s an issue of fate really, ‘cause
I didn’t really pick the instrument. When I was younger I played about
20 different instruments. I took an audition for this orchestra, and I
auditioned on clarinet and percussion because those were my two best
instruments. I got principal percussionist and alternate on clarinet, so
I chose to be a percussionist. I have no particular love of any one
instrument, I just love music, so if I weren’t playing vibraphone I’d be
playing piano or saxophone or something else. I think it’s just fate
that I end up playing the vibraphone. I do believe that there’s
something special about that instrument that I connect with. I feel that
my personality is very comfortably expressed on that instrument.
G1: We’re the fortunate ones really, the listeners and
fans, that you decided to choose that instrument. Do you still pick up
any of the other instruments that you’ve played before?
STEFON: Well, not really. I still play piano a lot. I
do a lot of my composing at the piano, and for training my ears,
working on developing new sounds, and orchestrating, the piano is a good
vehicle for that.
G1: On your first recording, CLOUD OF RED DUST, the
writing did have an orchestra feel. It sounded like a bigger band than
was actually there. Where do your composing skills and your thoughts on
composition come from?
STEFON: Composing is interesting. I believe that’s the central most important element
for me and probably for most musicians. I believe that every song that
I’m ever going to write, for the rest of my life, is already written.
It’s just a matter of me learning to listen for those notes that already
exist on the inside. So, I can’t really take credit for the songs. I
just sit down and I compose one note at a time. I know lots of harmony; I
have a master’s degree in music, so I’ve studied all the tricks, but
when I sit down to compose I try not to think about anything like that
at all. I try to be as emotional as possible. I’ll sit down and I’ll
strike one note and sometimes I’ll hear nothing else for the rest of the
day, and I’ll say o.k. this wasn’t the day. Maybe a week later I’ll
strike that note and a half-hour later I’ll hear a second one, then
maybe three other notes will come in a row; this is with no rhythm, no
orchestration, these are just a collection of intervals. Once I get
about 5 or 6 notes, everything else I can hear really quickly. It’s just
getting the first five or six notes…
G1: So, when you’re writing you don’t actually have a
band sound in mind? You know, like, “I’m writing this for a quintet, or
this is going to be a quartet piece”, it just kind of comes out that
way?
STEFON: You can orchestrate compositions in many
different ways. I definitely don’t compose that way. Sometimes when I’m
writing I’ll hear something like “a flute would work nice here,” or I
would hear “a trombone would work nice here,” but those are just options
and possibilities. I think that when I write I just hear it as a
separate entity that could be molded and shaped into many different
settings.
G1: Is that how you put together the music for BLACK
ACTION FIGURE? You have Gary Thomas on flute, which, along with the
vibes, is really tasty. Was that thought in mind when you were putting
together the music, as well as the band, for this recording?
STEFON: Well, again, I think the compositions are
just separate entities in and of themselves so that you could arrange
them however you want to. I just sat around and thought about who are
some of the musicians that I’d like to have be a part of this project. I
love Gary Thomas’ playing, especially his flute playing, and I really
wanted him to be a part of it so I wrote him into the music. Then having
Greg Osby, and Jason Moran, and Steve Turre… these are all people who
have very unique individual voices and that was very important for me.
Sometimes you get records where people are playing “stylistically” and
everyone is playing in the same sort of style. For me, I don’t like to
do that. I like to have it so that everyone has an individual voice.
Like I stand up and do what I do and that’s my version of whatever it is
we’re dealing with. When someone else comes up to play I want it to be
very different than what I just did, so I’m looking for musicians who
contrast what it is that I do. That’s how I chose a lot of the musicians
on the record.
G1: What’s your musical background? Did your parents or other family play? How did you get into music?
STEFON: Well, none of the other people in my family
are really musicians, but everybody could play a little bit on the organ
or whatever. We had a little toy organ when I was a kid, so my brothers
and sisters could horse around a little bit. I used to just like music,
listening to commercials. I remember we had these little 8 tracks, yeah
I’m that old to remember 8 tracks (laughing), and I just remember being
a kid, man, I loved music so much I would sit all day just listening to
the Commodores and Stevie Wonder 8 tracks. I could sit all day
listening to music, so it was very evident when I was young that I had a
certain passion for it.
We moved into an apartment where someone left a piano behind, so I
would sneak out in the middle of the night and figure out the little
notes on my own. My brothers and sisters wouldn’t teach me ‘cause I was a
little kid, so I’d have to sneak out and learn. I took some books,
there were some books in the bench, and I’d put them up there and
figured it out, how to read music on my own and to play the piano. That
was the start of it. It’s definitely something that I’ve always loved to
do.
G1: Is it something you thought you’d be doing professionally after a while?
STEFON: (Nodding positively) Yeah! I mean I think the earliest memory I have is something
about being an architect or something like that, but you know, I
can’t even draw a straight line so… Once I discovered music, all my life
I’ve wanted to do this… in combination with education, I’m also very
passionate about education.
G1: Do you teach also?
STEFON: I try to, I try to. It’s really difficult
with my current touring schedule. When I’m home I try to give private
lessons, and when I’m on the road we try to set up different masters
classes. Maybe we stop in and talk to some of the kids in high school,
because that has a very profound effect on how people will be playing in
the future.
A part of the problem that we have right now is that we have a whole
generation of musicians coming up who have no connection to the older
generation. They just heard some music and are just trying to figure it
out. That could be a good thing in some ways, but there’s… you’re
missing some of the essence if you’re not able to just sit next to
someone who’s really been there and really witnessed the music coming to
life with great sincerity and honesty as it does for many of our
masterful musicians.
G1: Kind of like a mentor?
STEFON: Yeah! And nowadays with music education not
being as prominent in the schools kids aren’t even seeing live music at
all. So, it’s really our responsibility to go in there and perform for
them and talk with them about the music. People have a lot of
misconceptions about Jazz also. They think that you have to know a lot,
you gotta know what the Blues is and you gotta know forms and all the
instruments, none of that’s true. The only thing you need for Jazz is to
sit down, close your eyes, and relax and give it an honest listen.
That’s all you need… and if you don’t like it that’s o.k. This music has
been around, and there are so many types of personalities that exist in
this music. I don’t think you could find me a human being that, if I
used all of the records that are recorded in Jazz, wouldn’t like
something. Out of all of this great music out here, even if it’s only
one, I know I could find a song they’d like.
G1: So, outside of your family, who were your music mentors?
STEFON: (Smiling as he remembers fondly) I have a
really special person who came into my life when I was about 13 and in
middle school. This was when I took that audition for the orchestra. The
guy, who was the head of the percussion division of the orchestra, he
started to give me private lessons. This guy is a pure genius, I mean
incredible, phenomenal. Much of my love of education was inspired by his
passion for it. He pulled me aside one day, when I was in the 8th
grade, and he says that he thinks that I’m very special and that I have a
very unique gift, that he’s going to dedicate the next six years of his
life to focusing on developing my gift. Now, that is really a blessing
for me to have someone like that come into my life.
He’s my biggest
mentor, his name’s Richard Albagley.
Again, I feel that it’s our responsibility, as artists, to make those
kinds of connections with kids. Even if it’s not as intense as that
was, it means a lot. You know, we get older and start playing and we
tend to forget that connection of what it is that brought us to the
music.
G1: I remember when I was in elementary school, we’d have
some teachers who, before school would start, would let us play records
in the classrooms about half an hour before the first bell would ring.
Besides getting the kids to class early it also added something else to
the day and our lives. I mean we got to hear stuff like Marvin Gaye and
the whole Motown thing, Curtis Mayfield, and Bill Withers, but we’d also
hear Duke Ellington, Miles’ various bands, Hank Crawford… it was
important to have.
STEFON: Yeah, it’s still a wonderful thing for kids…
Jazz, improvising… it brings people’s personalities to life. You know,
when you’re a child nowadays, if you’re growing up in any kind of rough
neighborhood or something like that you have to be rough, or at least
put on that façade. So you’re walking around pretending you’re this
callous person, you have to be able to watch the most violent things
that come out in the movies and on television and look at it like it’s
nothing. Part of us as human beings, of course, we have all that in us,
but there’s a lot of other elements that are in us like love and
compassion, like fear and greed… all of these emotions exist in all of
us even as children. What music does…, let’s say you have a piece of
music that’s very slow and requires a lot of patience, and you come to
the end of the phrase which needs to trickle away into complete silence
with a lot of elegance… you can’t draw from that callous side of your
personality. For you to really play that properly, you’re going to have
to relax and think about love. You’re going to have to caress this
phrase, and that means you’re going to learn something about yourself.
A lot of people have these things in them and haven’t discovered
them. So, if a child is doing that they’re discovering this entire other
part of their personality, making them more complete human beings in
the long run. They don’t necessarily become artists; I don’t think
playing music for kids is to turn them into artists. Some of them will,
but most of them won’t be. It’s just to enhance their lives.
G1: Back to BLACK ACTION FIGURE, are there any favorite pieces that you have there?
STEFON: I like them all, but I’m a sucker for
ballads. I like “Faded Beauty”. That was an interesting composition for
me. It’s a song that I wrote when I was visiting home and I saw an old
building that I used to live in… the building where I first learned to
play music. It’s all abandoned and it’s a terrible sight to the city. My
girlfriend, at the time, was with me and I was explaining to her that
this is where I learned to play. Even though it was a terrible building,
in my description I could only think of beautiful things to say, so
that’s where the title “Faded Beauty” comes from. That was one of the
first times that I remember hearing music immediately.
G1: You just mentioned being a sucker for ballads, and
one of the things that came to mind while listening to A CLOUD OF RED
DUST was just how peaceful it is. I mean, a lot of musicians who come
out with debut recordings want to show how fast they can play or how
many notes they can play in one breath, but it seems like you really
took your time and put a lot of thought and emotion into the playing.
From talking to you I can see that’s how you are.
STEFON: Well, I try to be… I mean, music is not the
number 1 priority in my life. I mean, being a good quality human being
comes first and music is merely a reflection, in my opinion, music is
merely a reflection of a person’s inner spirit. So you have to get your
inner spirit correct first. It’s not even a matter of working on it,
it’s a matter of raising your awareness of it and to be in tuned to
what’s going on in the inside and expressing that.
Since that 1999 conversation Stefon Harris has surely made
his mark. His band BlackOut continue to garner acclaim and gain new
fans. Their current cd, URBANUS, is not only satisfying to the
established Jazz listener, but has also become a favorite for neophytes.
More information and music of Concord Music Group recording artist Stefon Harris and BlackOut can be found at
Stefon Harris’
youthful goal was to play lead tympani in the New York Philharmonic;
instead, he took up the vibraphone and became one of the most ambitious
jazz players of his generation. Previously, Harris’ classical background
has combined with his jazz chops in large-scale concert works and
song-length pieces for mainstream quartet. However, his current
ensemble, Blackout, focuses instead on filtering jazz through the propulsive beats of funk, soul, hip-hop, and—on its 2009 CD Urbanus—D.C.’s indigenous genre, go-go (via an arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Gone”). In anticipation of Blackout’s performance at the Kennedy Center on Saturday, Nov.14, Harris waxed philosophical to The A.V. Club about breaking down musical barriers, melody versus rhythm, and why creativity is overrated.
The A.V. Club: How did your work in classical-infused jazz take the turn into the funk and hip-hop we hear on Urbanus?
Stefon Harris: Well,
it’s definitely a part of my cultural background. I grew in the inner
city, listening to Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, James Brown, The
Commodores—lots of soul music. And my mother’s actually a Pentecostal
minister, so I also heard a lot of gospel music. And I’m of that age
when rap first started, so I remember Grandmaster Flash, LL Cool J. It was a very organic progression to the music on this album.
AVC: And did all of the band members bring something to the table as well?
SH:
Absolutely. One of the things I’m adamant about as a bandleader is not
micromanaging. I’m an advocate for the concept of allowing everyone to
be fully vested in what they’re doing, so everyone contributes whatever
they’re inspired to contribute. Our music is not about me; I contribute
one part, one experience, and [drummer] Terreon Gully brings something
completely different.
AVC: You were raised in Albany, New
York; how is it that you’re now experimenting with a musical style like
go-go, which is so distinctive to D.C.?
SH: That’s a great collaboration with the ensemble. I’d heard Porgy And Bess,
Miles Davis’ record, many, many times—I’ve worn that CD out. As soon as
I heard the piece “Gone,” I knew that it was something I wanted to
record. And there’s something about that rhythm, it has such a beautiful
flow to it, that it made perfect sense for me to bring it in to the
Blackout ensemble. I did the arranging, but once I brought it in it was a
matter of not talking too much, just starting to play and letting the
guys experiment with it. As it happens, my dad lived in Northern
Virginia, so I spent some summers there, and two of the members of the
ensemble—the pianist, Marc Cary, and the bassist, Ben Williams—are from
D.C. So I suggested we try a go-go rhythm, and you could see Marc and
Ben come to life! [Laughs.] That was all we needed.
AVC: Urbanus has a harder edge to it than Evolution, the previous Blackout album. Is that deliberate?
SH: I would say that all of our progressions are not deliberate. [Laughs.] After we made Evolution,
we went on the road, and over the years a different sound developed.
It’s definitely not something we sat around and talked about: “Okay,
we’re gonna create a record that has a harder edge.” I’m not even sure
I’d say it’s “harder-edged,” so much as that there are fewer barriers.
We chose the name Blackout because we liked the idea of blacking out the
narrow definition of what jazz is supposed to be. So as we’ve evolved
as an ensemble, I think you’re just hearing that we’re allowing more
hip-hop rhythms, more go-go, more R&B, while maintaining the
beautiful integrity of swing. We’re just opening up to allow all the
possibilities in.
AVC: As a vibraphonist, you’re generally a melodic player; does the nature of Blackout make you play more rhythmically?
SH: I think it all comes back to the individual. My
instrument’s just a pile of metal and wood! If you listen to the way I
speak I have a lot of rhythm, use a lot of accents. When I’m playing my
instrument that concept comes through very clearly. In fact some people
who’ve seen me play have noticed that I’m singing—but it’s more that I’m
actually speaking. So it’s not really about the instrument. But for me,
in my thinking, the music is all about the melody. When I compose, 99
percent of the time I start with the melody.
AVC: But isn’t the rhythmic emphasis what distinguishes Blackout from your other projects? SH: Right. I think when you look back at the
different eras in jazz, what leads from one to another is never a
melodic revolution, but a rhythmic revolution. So absolutely I think
that the rhythm is important here. And my job is to be a part of that,
but also to be the warm current on top of that. You know, if I were to
bang out just the rhythm of “The Star Spangled Banner,” nobody would
know what song it was. But if I play the melody, even if I play it in an
abstract manner, it’s instantly recognizable. Even when I was studying
to be a classical percussionist, I think I was a more lyrical
percussionist; melody is the heart and soul of the music.
AVC: How did you move from those classical studies into jazz?
SH: I
don’t really see huge barriers between any styles of music. My
definition of music is “organizing sound and silence into emotion,” and
that’s a very broad definition. When you see us live, you’ll realize
that we don’t really have a genre. We play jazz, we play reggae, we play
gospel, we play soul music. We have avant-garde and classical
influences. It’s just organizing sound into emotion. But people can call
it jazz if they want—as long as they call it, I don’t mind! [Laughs.]
As for how I describe it, I find the term “jazz” to be a bit broad, so I
like to be more specific and call it “jazz-urban.”
AVC: Do you think that description, “jazz-urban,” is more relevant to audiences today? SH: Oh,
absolutely. I think we’re hitting our mark as far as making sure that
our music is a reflection of our time, that it’s not just a re-creation
of music from the past. It’s not a compromise at all: The way I look at
music, what I’m interested in is not necessarily creativity—in many ways
I think creativity is overrated, actually. What I think is important is
authenticity. I want to hear music that has the resonance of the
people. I want to hear music that is an amplification of them. Because
then, I can experience the people. But because the music has
become so institutionalized, everyone is learning and regurgitating the
same material in the same way. I was doing a master class in Tennessee a
few years ago and they were all playing Ellington’s “Cotton Tail.” The
tune is from Harlem, and I’m in the middle of Tennessee. Doesn’t anyone
have a Tennessee sound? There’s no country-jazz?
Global vibes – Navigating jazz from San Francisco to Havana, and points in between
We first spoke with vibraphonist Stefon Harris
in 2009, by cell phone, as he drove through New York on an errand,
careful not to be gone too long from his wife, who was home about six
months pregnant with their first child. We spoke again in 2011. This
time he was stationary, the baby was healthy, and he was engaging in
many projects, including his third year contributing to the SFJAZZ Collective.
Harris is as precise in his
conversation as he is in his playing. The clarity of the vibraphonist,
whose wood-on-metal hammering doesn't allow bending or lipping notes up
or down, was reflected in his comments, which over the two interviews
provided great insights for articles on a Blue Note Records anniversary
tour (which he was not part of), his band Blackout's 2009 appearance at
the Segerstrom Center for the Arts (then called the Orange County
Performing Arts Center), a story on that Center's 25th Anniversary, the
SFJazz Collective appearance there in March 2012, and 90 Miles, a collaboration with Cuban musicians, trumpeter Christian Scott and saxophonist David Sanchez (who would soon be joining the Collective).
The two interviews have been integrating into the following conversation.
THEATERTIMES:You played 20 instruments before you were a
teenager. How did you gravitate to the vibes given that it seems to be
one of the more logistically challenging instruments? That’s got to be
harder than a piano to find in practice rooms or lug around to school.
STEFON HARRIS: I think that’s the euphemism of the year, man. [laugh]
I think it’s a testament to the power of mentorship. I met a gentleman
by the name of Richard Albagli who was a percussionist, and he became
my private teacher when I was in the 8th grade. And his passion and love
of music was so strong that I just chose the instrument that he played,
really. To me the instruments really aren’t that important. Ultimately
it’s about the story that’s being told. So, if I weren’t a vibraphonist,
I’d be a pianist or bass player. I would be expressing myself in some
way. Maybe a writer. Who knows? [laughs]
THEATERTIMES:There’s also the technical appreciation . . . HARRIS: Obviously, after all these years of playing I appreciate it in more than just a technical manner. But I think it’s a series of random events that brought me to be playing the vibraphone at this point.
THEATERTIMES:Do you practice any other instruments these days?
HARRIS: Yeah. The majority of my practice is done at the
piano, actually. Most of my study of harmony and writing music is done
at the piano. And, I practice vibes just for technical means. Although there is all this freedom onstage and creativity that flows
from a great jazz ensemble, the actual practicing part of this is monotonous! [laughs]
There’s not a lot of creativity in my practice regimen now. It’s all
about absorbing fundamentals and being prepared for the moment. THEATERTIMES:What’s the rule of thumb on number of sticks a vibraphonist usually uses? HARRIS: I play with one mallet, two mallets, three mallets and
four. The most you can hold is two in each hand. It’s totally
dictated by the need of the music. THEATERTIMES:So you can strike a four-note chord . . .
HARRIS: Yes. THEATERTIMES:And you have a sustain pedal so you can add into that chord . . . HARRIS: Yes you can. THEATERTIMES:Not that you should have to teach me what the vibes are all about . . . I’m sorry to do this to you, but it just came out . . . [Laughter] THEATERTIMES:I know that you had on your first album all
original stuff plus one tune by Bobby Hutcherson. . . Since he’s a
Californian and I think you joined SFJAZZ to take up what might be
called his chair, what has he meant to you and how are you two similar
or different? HARRIS: Well, again, it’s another great testament to the power
of heroes. I think Bobby Hutcherson is someone who on the vibraphone
itself, technically, brought it to a completely different
level. But his influence is much greater than the instrument. I think
his sense of melody and sense of timing and wit and his gift
harmonically is really, really special, and has very little to do with
the vibraphone. So that’s one of the reasons that he’s someone that I
gravitated to. That he didn’t play any "vibraphone-like" stuff. And
also, his sound . . . if I am similar to him I hope that it’s in spirit.
I hope that I have watched an artist like him and learned to have that
sense of freedom and that sense of exploration and curiosity that he has
about music, and apparently about life as well. But, yeah, I consider myself a musician first, so if you really get
into a lot of my influences, they’re not vibraphonists. I’m a huge Miles
Davis fan. I have all of his stuff obviously, but in terms of the type
of bandleader that I want to be, that I aspire to be is totally
influenced by Miles Davis. . . . Coltrane is another hero of mine. I think that he is probably one of
the most articulate, emotionally articulate musicians of the century.
So when I’m looking for the specifics that I want to use to tell my
story, I go to whoever’s expert at that. If it’s about emotional
expression, I go to Coltrane. THEATERTIMES:Along those lines, who, alive or dead, would
you like to play with – because it would be a great learning experience
or just fun? Sounds like Coltrane and Davis would be fun. HARRIS: Well, sure, of course. But honestly I’m not the most
nostalgic type of person. The people I would name are probably people
who are alive right now. My peers, like Kenny Garrett, I’m a big fan of
Kenny Garrett. I haven’t played with him. I’ve had the opportunity to
play with a lot of my peers. Well, Herbie. I haven’t had a chance to
play with Herbie Hancock. I would love to play with Herbie Hancock.
And, ah, Wayne Shorter, I haven’t had the chance to play with. So, I
tend to gravitate to living musicians I want to play with right now. But, you know, one person who I didn’t get a chance to actually play
music with who has passed away is Shirley Horn. Absolutely love Shirley
Horn. Shirley Horn is a major influence on me in terms of learning how
to phrase. I listen to that CD Shirley Horn with Strings: Here’s to Life. I wore that out!
And I would just listen to it again and again. And listen to the
space and the timing. I really learned a lot about music being used as a
tool to tell a story from Shirley Horn. . . . . THEATERTIMES:So let’s talk about some of these living musicians you play with. I think you’re bringing out your regular band . . . HARRIS: That’s right, the group Blackout. THEATERTIMES:So this isn’t a pick-up situation, these are
guys you really know and work with. What characterizes your
relationship with these players? HARRIS: Well certainly chemistry, first and foremost.
There’s nothing like the test of time and given time and chemistry
together and the opportunity to develop, it’s absolutely amazing. We
have a very strong sense of intuition with one another where we can
almost hear where someone is going before they even go there. And when
you have that kind of chemistry a lot of magic happens because it’s very
unpredictable. When you get a sense of where something is going to
land, maybe you can jump in that space first and catch them. [laughs]
So you actually end up in the space together. So it does not have the
sense of five people getting on the stage together who don’t really know
each other. [Watch TED Conference video above right for demonstration.] THEATERTIMES:There’s not that tentativeness of waiting to see what someone likes to do first . . . HARRIS: No. There’s definitely a lot of risk that happens when
we play and I think that’s because we’re learned to really trust each
other. Like we take chances that are totally unpredictable, and
sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. But we trust each other
enough to know that somewhere on the other side someone is going to pick
up the ball and we’re going to be all right and we’re going to keep
moving forward as a team. THEATERTIMES:And the music gets that exciting edge when just that kind of thing is going on anyway. HARRIS: That’s right. And we’re all basically of the same
generation, not that you can’t work with musicians of different
generations, but I think we all have a similar story to tell and we can
relate directly to one another in a way that I think is special and
really happens when you have people who are like brothers with one
another. And so you have Marc Cary on key and piano, who is from Washington
DC, has a lot of go-go influence, R&B influence in his playing. Of
course he’s played with Betty Carter, Abby Lincoln, a lot of great
straight-ahead jazz musicians as well, but he brings all of that other
stuff that I really appreciate. Terreon Gully, on drums is someone who, as I understand, learned to
play at church. My mother’s a Pentecostal minister so I grew up in a
church as well. So there’s a certain sound to gospel music, a certain
feeling and emotional commitment that comes from Gospel music that we’re
able to reference and relate to one another. So [if] we go there at
any given moment on the bandstand, everybody is together. Then you have someone like Casey Benjamin on alto saxophone and
vocorder. He’s very influenced by Prince, Stevie Wonder . . . I’m a huge
Stevie Wonder fan. So there are times where we may randomly go into a
part of a Stevie Wonder tune and we all know it. Of course we’re all
united by jazz, that’s a given. But our influences really are much more
indicative of our era or our time, not only Stevie, but we’ve gone into
quotes from Missy Elliott tunes and it can be anything at any given
moment. And that makes it really unique, special, unpredictable for us
and we know therefore that it’s unpredictable for the audience. So it
becomes this amazing journey that we all get on together. THEATERTIMES:What makes a venue work for you? HARRIS: The biggest thing you’re looking for a space to
provide is the feeling of connectivity with the audience. So many times
very, very large spaces are more challenging because there’s a lot of
distance between you and the audience. So the types of venues that I’m
drawn to are the ones in the middle. They’re large enough to accommodate
a lot of people, yet you can see the people, the people can see you.
That’s one of the things I remember about appearing in Orange County is
that it has that sort of hybrid feel of playing in a club and a large
performing arts center. Ultimately this is a music that thrives live. And the reason it
thrives in a setting like that is because it is very unpredictable. And
that "connecting with an audience" is essential because we literally
feed off the energy of the audience. Depending on the energy we’re
getting when we walk out on stage, we may play a ballad or we may play
something fast, or something in the middle. We really don’t know. THEATERTIMES:I was just listening to Curtis Mayfield today. Is that someone you’ve ever tried to work a song out of? He’s got quite a lot. HARRIS: What a voice. I need to check him out. I’ve obviously
heard a lot of Curtis Mayfield but I haven’t recorded any of his music.
I need to first document a Stevie song. Stevie is my hero. One of the
greatest musicians ever, and certainly one of my most influential
people. He’s got a boatful of them. Briefly jumping ahead to our 2011 conversation, when
Harris was in between his third and fourth years with SFJAZZ Collective.
Both years featured the music of Stevie Wonder. THEATERTIMES:So, you're now in in SFJAZZ in time for "the Wonder Years." HARRIS: I like that, "the Wonder Years." Actually I played on
two earlier ones. I was in for the Wayne Shorter year and I was on the
Horace Silver year, too. THEATERTIMES: This 2011-12 extension of Wonder is the first time SFJAZZ has given the artist-of-focus a second year HARRIS: We have such a great book of music that everybody in
the group agreed that we want it to continue touring for a little bit
longer. THEATERTIMES:So, to remind readers of the SFJAZZ process:
there are still eight songs by the composer and an equal number by the
individual members?
HARRIS: Yes. That’s the basic structure, which I think is
really, really critical to keeping the ensemble vibrant. If it became
just some type of repertory ensemble, I don’t think the musicians would
be as inspired. Because of the way it’s structured we’re actually
allowed to really be influenced by the music of the chosen composer.
Because we’re studying their music, intensely: writing our arrangements
and then turning around and writing our originals. You can’t help but be
influenced by the people you’ve been spending a lot of time studying. So it’s a near-perfect structure in my opinion. And that’s really
interesting. In theory, the SFJAZZ Collective is an ensemble that plays
ALL new music. Because every arrangement that we’re doing is certainly
not in the traditional sense. Everyone is bringing his or her own flavor
to it, in addition to the original. So it’s an ensemble that is very
much alive and about the sound of today. THEATERTIMES:Back in 2008, however, we discussed how you
get energized by a blend of the past and present, but there is
particular relativity in the music of today. HARRIS: When you have that kind of energy and you’re
referencing things of our lifetime I think the audience can actually
relate to that much more. There’s nothing wrong with ghost bands and
things of that nature, but I honestly can’t play a lot of the older
music with the same level of sincerity that I demand of myself. Many
times it becomes a song that I like that I have the technical ability to
play, obviously, but I don’t have an emotional connection to that piece
of music. It’s just an intellectual exercise. And I put as much emotion
into it as I can. But on the record Evolution, we recorded a Sting song called Until, which is from the movie King Leopold,
and I had a physical experience where I was at the movie with my wife
watching it, so I remember the characters, I remember the costumes, I
remember the day in the theater. And when I play it, it feels that way
to me. Not that I can’t play a standard. There are some standards that
pull something from inside of me: that are timeless. There are certain
love songs, where it doesn’t matter when they were written. It’s about
something that is universal and that is never going to change. THEATERTIMES:That’s right. HARRIS: But there are songs that are written now that I think are of unbelievably great quality. THEATERTIMES:On that issue of generational change . . . you and your wife are having a baby soon . . . ? HARRIS: Yeah. It’s going to be my first. So we’ll see what kind of influence that has on things. THEATERTIMES:Well it’ll have some on your sleep, that’s one thing. HARRIS: That’s for sure, right? One thing that’s changed
already is I’m working my butt off at home, just practicing as hard as I
ever have in my lifetime to get as much work in as I can now. THEATERTIMES:Well, you could be lucky. it sounds like
you’ve got a pretty good spirit, so hopefully you’ll get that back in a
calm sleeper [laugh]. HARRIS: [Laughing.] Well we’re looking forward to it. THEATERTIMES:When is it due? HARRIS: March 2009 THEATERTIMES:Oh, wow, so just a few weeks before the show. We’ll if you’re dozing on the stand we’ll know why. HARRIS: Oh no. [Laughs.] In fact it’s another one of
those interesting challenges as a musician. I’ve decided that I’ve
cleared my calendar. I’ve cut back on a lotof work so that I can be around to be
a father. It’s a great experience and for many musicians it’s a tough
choice. Because you’re balancing income and . . . we’ll it’s a
challenge. But for me I really have made it a priority so I’m only
taking the gigs that I feel are special and are going to mean something
unique to me. And, back to 2011 for a brief discussion of "90 Miles," a
CD released that year that was recorded in Havana with trumpeter
Christian Scott, saxophonist David Sanchez, and top Cuban musicians:
pianists Rember Duharte and Harold López-Nussa, bassists Osmar Salazar
and Yandy Martinez González, and percussionists Eduardo Barroetabeña,
Ruy Adrián López-Nussa, Edgar Martínez Ochoa DeZabalegui, and Jean
Roberto San Miguel. There's so much I have in my imagination right now, so much I dream
of accomplishing in terms of music. It's as clear as day what it is I
need to work on for the next 20 years to get where my ambition lies. I
see it more clearly than I ever have in my life and I'm working harder
with more passion than I have so the music is absolutely amazing to me. THEATERTIMES:And what are some of those configurations that you see? Blackout and what else? HARRIS: It's funny. I don't really think in terms of
configurations. I think more in terms of people, when you meet someone
that you feel connected with, they could play anything, and if it's
incredible and I feel a connection to them we'll put something together
based on that sense of connectivity. So, texturally I'm wide open to
whatever comes my way. It's more about expanding my ear and my ability
to hear what's going on around me and interpret music on a more profound
level. THEATERTIMES:And is the "90 Miles" project a step into music where more is opening up to you? HARRIS: Absolutely. I went to Cuba to make that record with no
expectations at all, and the spirit of those Cuban musicians was such
an inspiration. They played with so much joy. It's kind of a simple
thing to say, but it's very rare actually that someone plays with that
kind of open spirit and real appreciation for the moment. And, so that
was an incredible reminder for me of what the music is really all about.
Taking opportunities like that are critical for my growth as a
musician, but just also as a human being. And we conclude with a bit of the first interview from 2008. THEATERTIMES:Since you came up with the album title "Grand Unification Theory," you seem the man to ask where jazz is today? HARRIS: [laughs] Ha. That’s an apropos title for that
question actually. It seems to me that the music is always a reflection
of what’s going on in the world. And the world is getting smaller and
smaller, with the Internet and just the globalization of these large
companies. I think we’re finding that in the music we’re able to
incorporate many, many different cultures and it’s a really open art
form where you’re allowed to have your own perspective. In fact, you’re
required to have your own perspective in order to make a contribution to
the legacy of this music.
So I actually think the music is in a really interesting state, where
it’s really become a type of world music, if you will. So I’m very
optimistic about where we stand, and I’m optimistic about the potential
to continue to reflect the possible social structure of the United
States artistic. How inclusive this art is, and how encompassing it is.
It really is a prototype for how our political system could work.
THEATERTIMES:Well it’s been a real pleasure to talk to you.
Click image to purchase recordings by Stefon Harris on Amazon.
Cloud of Red Dust Stefon Harris
The Grand Unification Theory Stefon Harris
Evolution Stefon Harris
Music of Horace Silver SFJAZZ Collective
Music of Stevie Wonder SFJAZZ Collective
Ninety Miles Harris, with David Sanchez and Christian Scott
BIO
Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as "one of
the most important young artists in jazz" (The Los Angeles Times). He
is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary
career. Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and
astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the
current jazz scene. Widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and
jazz critics alike, the 30 year-old is committed to both exploring the
rich potential of jazz composition and blazing new trails on the
vibraphone. A graduate of The Manhattan School of Music, he received a B.A. in
Classical Music and an M.A. in jazz performance. Stefon is a recipient
of the prestigious Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and has
earned back to back to back Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Album
including The Grand Unification Theory (2003), the 2001 release of
Kindred (Blue Note) and his 1999 release of Black Action Figure (Blue
Note) for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. North Sea Jazz (Netherlands)
named Harris for the prestigious International 2002 Bird Award for
Artist Deserving Wider Recognition. He has been voted Best Mallet player
by the Jazz Journalist Association (2003, 2002, 2001 and 2000), Debut
Artist of the Year by Jazztimes, Downbeat's Critics Poll Winner for
Vibraphone and Rising Star, Vibraphone (2003) Newsweek's Best Jazz CD,
Best New Talent and 1999-2000 Readers Poll Best Vibraphonist by Jazziz
Magazine and Chicago Tribune's Debut of the Year. Harris has performed at many of the world's most distinguished
concert halls, including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The Kennedy
Center, San Francisco's Herbst Theater, UCLA's Royce Hall, Chicago's
Symphony Center, Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and The Sydney Opera House.
He has toured and recorded with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
Center and performed his original compositions with the Dutch Metropole
Orchestra in Den Hague. He has toured South Africa, Brazil and Europe
performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival and
the Umbria Jazz Festival, among others. In 2001 he premiered "The Grand Unification Theory" -- a full length
concert piece commissioned by The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall which
was later presented at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He has
also appeared at the legendary Playboy Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz
Festival and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Most recently
Mr. Harris received a commission from The Wharton Center for Performing
Arts, Michigan State University which will debut in 2005. An active educator Mr. Harris conducts over 100 clinics and lectures
annually at schools and universities throughout the country. He is
currently Artist in Residence at San Francisco Performances and in 2002
at The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. In addition he has
been an active member of the Executive Board of Directors for Chamber
Music America
Imani
Winds, a wind quintet whose stylish grace and charm match the high
quality of sound produced from their instruments, hold a substantial
pedigree among fellow artists, audiences, and critics alike. Imani WindsThese
are musicians for whom artistic risks are to be taken cautiously and,
once taken, followed through with abandon. At the very least, this type
of conviction garners respect, but being in top form while you do it is
special stuff. Add to this ensemble the collaboration of Stefon Harris —
one of the world’s premier vibraphonists, known for his deft
musicianship and his engaging performances — and this pedigree increases
fourfold, one for each mallet Harris wields.
Sunday’s concert at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, featuring
the Winds, who were joined by Harris in the second half, had a warmth
and ebullient charm that made clear how much these musicians loved
playing with each other, and how much they loved performing for their
audience. The quintet, always decked in elegant dress and infectious
smiles, is something of a living, breathing example of the cultural
diversity that is American music, which they champion. Harris, a
previous member of the SFJAZZ Collective and formerly a five-year artist
in residence for San Francisco Performances, complements the Winds in
this regard; equally trained in classical music and jazz as a student at
the Manhattan School of Music in the 1990s, he himself makes a strong
case for what American music both looks and sounds like. In fact, the only composition on display that was not penned by an
American composer — specifically, an American composer present on stage
that evening — was the Quintette by the 20th-century French
composer Jean Françaix, which paled in comparison to the other three
pieces on the program. This is not to slight Françaix’ writing, which
has its own charm and was executed flawlessly by the quintet, but rather
to speak of the special quality of music written specifically for Imani
Winds. The first two such pieces were composed by members of the quintet: Red Clay and Mississippi Delta and Homage to Duke
by flautist Valerie Coleman and hornist Jeff Scott, respectively.
Coleman’s work is a whimsical toe-tapper (or finger-snapper, as Coleman
herself demonstrated) that showcases the clarinet, played by Mariam
Adam, brilliantly. Scott’s piece pays deference to Duke Ellington’s profoundly beautiful Come Sunday with
savory clustered dissonances, bassoon ostinatos (carried expertly by
Monica Ellis), and contrapuntal moments that crystallized the already
heightened sense of group interaction. Defiantly Out of the Box The centerpiece of this concert, which came
in the second half along with Harris, was actually a box — literally and
metaphorically. Harris explained that though he usually does not take
commissions, the opportunity to write for Imani Winds was one he
couldn’t pass up, and how to write for such a unique ensemble
was, interestingly, both the initial challenge and, ultimately, what
generated the content for his original Anatomy of a Box (A Sonic Painting in Wood, Metal, and Wind). Stefon Harris
The
box in question is an eight-tone log drum: a wooden box with slits
carved into one of its sides, forming tongues of different pitches that
when struck resonate within the body of the box. Harris turned to this
instrument in a moment of compositional exasperation away from the
piano, where he composes. The warm resonance of those eight pitches
provided for Harris a way of thinking, well, outside the box and, as his
piece developed further, also a way of coming up with the elementary
pitch material for an impressive array of chordal harmonies. Anatomy of a Box oscillates between improvised and prewritten
sections (sometimes occurring simultaneously), tension and release,
imitative propulsion and choralelike restraint, chaos and organization.
Harris, a preeminent improviser, created space for members of Imani
Winds to spontaneously create melody, as well. The piece may be thought
of as being divided into three sections: one where the ensemble players
play off each other, the second where they play on top of an electronic
drone (introduced and controlled by Harris), and the final where the
eight notes of the log drum are looped electronically, which serves as a
foundation for captivating ensemble playing and the most interesting
and fulfilling moments of the composition. Harris was right when he told the audience that what he set out to create with Anatomy of a Box
was “American chamber music,” which is not necessarily classical or
jazz but certainly a mix of both. Except what Harris said really applied
to the entire concert: a testament that, after it was all said and
done, was like preaching to the choir.
Kwami Coleman
is a Ph.D. student in musicology at Stanford, with a concentration in
jazz history. He was formerly an artist's liaison with Jazz at Lincoln
Center.
Unlike other “miscellaneous instruments,” such as the French horn
or the bass clarinet, the vibraphone has played a central role in the
history of jazz. From Lionel Hampton’s influence on Benny Goodman’s
quartet in the ’30s to Bobby Hutcherson’s voice in free jazz ventures by
Eric Dolphy and Andrew Hill in the ’60s to Milt Jackson’s monumental
second half of the last millennium with the Modern Jazz Quartet, the
vibes have been present for many of the music’s defining moments.
Yet like other niche instruments, the vibraphone has not had many
practitioners. It is probably possible to count all the important vibes
players on the fingers of one hand. (To the three above, add Red Norvo
and Gary Burton.)
Then there is the fact that the sound of the vibraphone, or vibraharp,
issues an emotional summons like no other instrument in jazz. These
struck notes, with their luxurious vibrato, possess a deeply evocative
textural complexity. They are notes that can hang in the air like the
knells of eternity. Every melody sounds more important, more resonant
with implication, when played on the vibes.
So it’s no wonder Stefon Harris hit with a splash when he appeared on
the scene in the late ’90s. Harris was quick-on-quick, with an attack
that relied less on tremolo and more on postmodern, asymmetrical
phrasing and whiplash riffs that did not resolve like bebop. And just
when you came to expect only bursts and staccatos from him, he would
unwind a run like an endless sinuous strand as elegant as Bags Jackson
himself. But Harris has always been more than the next fast-gun vibes
player. He is a schooled, eclectic musical thinker who is interested in
composition and highly developed ensemble concepts. From his 1998
debut as a leader, A Cloud of Red Dust (Blue Note), where he attempted
to unify his 10 originals “like a novel,” Harris has displayed a
commitment to the record album as an art from.
But his new recording, The Grand Unification Theory, is orders of
magnitude more ambitious than anything he has previously attempted.
Harris’ aspirations for this work are so grandiose that, at first blush,
it is difficult to take him seriously. Harris is interested in
physics, and this suite is described as a musical attempt to connect the
four major physical forces in the universe (gravitational,
electromagnetic, weak nuclear and strong nuclear). The piece is also
said to be a story of the life-and-death cycle and a personal
autobiographical journey. Perhaps only 27-year-olds are sufficiently
innocent and courageous to try to tell the history of the world and “all
my philosophies about life up to this point” with their first
commission for a large-scale work-especially when they possess no prior
arranging experience. The Theory was commissioned for the Troy Savings
Bank Music Hall in Troy, New York, where it premiered in March of 2001.
It is a suite in 10 movements, plus a prologue and epilogue, 70 minutes
in duration, utilizing a 12-piece ensemble.
There is of course a story underpinning the music, and it is interesting
to follow it. The opening “The Birth of Time,” for example,
representing the Big Bang Theory, is appropriately cataclysmic. “Escape
to Quiet Desperation” is an effective portrait in music of the drug
experience, from the first self-deceptive, lightly swinging rush to a
piano figure’s repetitive monotony to the agitated reaching out of Steve
Turre’s trombone to the full ensemble’s woozy euphoria, all elements
disassembling and evaporating in a saxophone’s tuneless, empty escape of
air. Motifs are developed, such as the formal processional of “March
of the Angels” and the whirring bass and swooping flute of “The Mystic
Messenger.” They culminate in the 10-minute title track, where storms
of percussion from the band’s three drummers, including a timpanist,
suggest the collision of those aforementioned physical forces. Then the
full ensemble’s harmonious blending implies their “unification.” There
is a nice touch with the prologue and epilogue. The prologue states a
melody in a hard, bright groove by the whole ensemble. The epilogue,
dedicated to Milt Jackson, contains single, hesitant, yearning notes
from Harris’ vibes that are eventually revealed as the same theme.
But the music must stand on its own, apart from the story. Harris’
Theory mostly succeeds. His band contains highly articulate voices,
some known (trombonist Steve Turre and pianist Xavier Davis and tenor
saxophonist Tim Warfield), and some virtually unknown (trumpeter Derrick
Gardner and flutist Anne Drummond). As Harris paints with their
individual and collective colors, he displays deftness and discipline.
Forms are worked through in meticulous detail. Solos are succinct and
grow organically out of the overall design. And woven through
everything, like a silver thread of intelligence, is Harris’ vibraharp,
sometimes out front, elaborating the protagonist’s point of view but
more often deeper in the mix, illuminating and intensifying and
solidifying the whole.
The music here is highly competent, but, as composer/arranger, Harris is
not yet ready to write the masterpiece he intended. For all of its
polish, his writing possesses a quality of sameness. His themes are
well-proportioned but not always memorable, which sometimes makes the
pomp with which they are presented come off like bombast. The
intellectual control exercised over his materials is so strict that some
of the qualities on which jazz depends, like creative impulse and risk,
are smoothed out of existence. There are too many sections in these 70
minutes that feel like transitional bridges. This suite could have
been concentrated into a more sustained, impactful 40 or 45 minutes.
Sound quality is one reason why this album is not more persuasive. It
was recorded by an excellent engineer, Joe Ferla. But it lacks the
balance and discrimination among instruments and inner detail that might
have made Harris’ ensemble sound more important.
The Grand Unification Theory is, finally, an admirable early work of
genuine promise. It is strong enough to create widespread interest in
the fact that Harris has already written another suite called The
Gardner Meditations and that Blue Note plans to record it.
by Allison Lewis
Regina Carter and Stefon Harris
Berklee College of Music
Friday, Feb 1, 2002
$30 reserved seating
Stefon Harris and Regina Carter, two great jazz artists,
combined forces at the Berklee Performance Center for a unique and
exciting performance Friday night. Stefon Harris, a commanding
vibraphone player whose newly released Black Action Figure was named Best Jazz CD by Newsweek,
led a simple quartet that included piano, drums, and bass. Regina
Carter, a stunning jazz violinist, is critically acclaimed for her solo
work with Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson. Her quintet included
piano, drums, percussion, and bass.
“Man, I love my job!” began Harris, when he stepped onto the
stage. This passion shone throughout the show. Using no set list, the
quartet moved wildly from soft to loud, playing so well together the
improvised parts sounded composed.
Their first song, “Rebirth,” began with a unique piano solo that
reminded me of a twisted Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy.” Then the
other instruments joined in, bringing the music to a short and deafening
climax - the vibraphone bewitching and humming like a human voice, the
brave bass player plucking away.
The next song began with a compelling vibraphone solo, revealing
Harris’ honest and beautiful style. The drummer launched into a groove
and led the music into loud, head-bobbing jazz. I was less impressed
with the last song, “T.T. Boom,” which seemed dull at times but had one
charming piano solo. Carter began with “Black Orpheus.” She played the dark, quiet
song seamlessly, with gentle perfection and obvious classical
background. “Prelude” was fast and fun, with strong hints of country and rock
and roll. Not the usual bar-style jazz, the song mixed African chanting
with Riverdance, revealing, as it ended, a surprising amount of singing
talent in the group. Carter moved with her violin like a fiddler, and
the audience couldn’t help but join in, one man moving so wildly he
seemed to be having a fit. During his solo, the piano player became
Jerry Lee Lewis, banging away like he couldn’t hit a wrong note. The
percussionist led the audience into a forest of chirping birds,
fluttering wings-in-the-wind, and rattlesnakes. Carter bobbed her head
and the musicians jumped into a fast melody, punctuated by excited
shouts of “hah!”
In “The Music Goes Round and Round,” Carter made her violin sing
like Ella Fitzgerald, who once performed the song. Again the musicians
sang the end, filling the stage with their energy. The last song, named
“Mohito” for a Cuban drink, had a Latin-swing. Carter commanded the
audience to clap and sing “Mohito!” in repetition with the music. She
set her violin down and danced with the pianist, swinging like they were
at a Cuban dance club. The timbale player provided their vibe,
punctuating the beat with the sounds of her native tongue as she bobbed
with her drums. Her strong voice and drum solo gave the music intense
movement, making me wish she had been featured more.
At the end of the concert, both groups came out on stage and
wrapped arms around each other: two vastly different performances, but
clearly one great show.
Though Harris and Carter each had a unique, unpredictable styles,
these performers escaped common jazz repetition and made each song
stand out. They played out to the audience and enjoyed themselves under
the bright stage lights. They sang and danced, too, and by the end of
the show, I wanted to be on stage. I understood at once why they both
genuinely love their jobs; the performance was alive. Stefon Harris and
Regina Carter made music that was heard and felt.
New York Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra Swinging
with guest artist Stefon Harris
The Appel Room,
Lincoln Center’s site for large Jazz concerts, is actually housed
inside Time Warner Center, overlooking Columbus Circle. And when I say
overlooking, the performers stand before a steep amphitheater, with an
enormous wall of framed glass at their back. As the sun sets on 59th
Street and Central Park, the city lights provide a ceaseless
kaleidoscope of color and motion.
But those exquisite surroundings were
upstaged yet again by the red blooded Jazz brought to life before our
eyes by the superb musicianship in the New York Youth Symphony’s Jazz
Orchestra, with Director Matt Holman conducting. Featuring a richly
textured new work by composer Nate Kimball and a spellbinding
performance by special guest, vibraphonist Stefon Harris.
Master of Mallets, Stefon Harris (photos: M. Krupit)
The theme for this season’s final Jazz concert was “Feelin’ the Vibes”, featuring well-loved music popularized by the great vibraphonists like Lionel Hampton, Cal Tjader, Terry Gibbs, and Milt Jackson. And four compositions by Mr. Harris.
The night kicked off with Benny Goodman’s Don’t Be That Way from 1935, a big band extravaganza with popping horns that lit a fire under every seat in the place. Matt Holman’s arrangement of Joao Donato’s Sabor from 1962 added some Latin spice to the mix, and then Milt Jackson’s Bag’s Groove from 1958 stirred things into a smooth concoction with an inner city edge, that went down easy and then shook things up until the whole room was jumping, before cooling way down at the end, leaving a tingling, revitalized spirit.
That was quite a three tune warm up, which set the bar rather high for Mr. Kimball’s Karma, the commissioned piece of music performed with the composer sitting in the front row, near the piano.
A graduate of the Downbeat Award-winning Jazz program at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Kimball continues his postgraduate studies as a composer, while performing with his own modern-day big band. And Karma was indeed modern, fresh and inventive.
Starting out with layers of syncopation in the reeds and percussion, punctuated by brassy swells, it evolved into a complex and witty piece. With a feint towards Gil Evans, it sailed off into new territory, continuing to surprise throughout, as crescendos melted away into a solo from a lonesome sax or sprightly guitar. And time and again the horns joined forces to weave a rich and textured tapestry, as a backdrop to whatever strain was rising to the forefront. His work utterly satisfying, Mr. Kimball stood for an extended and much deserved ovation.
After this modern gem, we were returned to Jazz’s heyday, with a version of Moonglow, from 1933, one of those timeless tunes I never grow tired of hearing. But this was not the floating dreamboat of guitarist George Barnes or the original foxtrot by his pal, fiddler Joe Venuti. Conductor Holman chose instead hornman Al Cohn’s arrangement as a springboard to something right out of a 1930s burlesque hall. The drive of muted speakeasy trumpets and an evocative bump and grind rhythm section set the saucy mood. But it was the slinky trombones that got so low down and dirty I thought they’d summon the ghost of Gypsy Rose Lee right then and there.
Part way through Moonglow I noticed an unusual tightness in the corners of my cheekbones. I then realized I had been grinning to such a wide extent it was becoming painful, but I just couldn’t stop it.
It was a terrific first half, and ended on an even higher note thanks to Hamp’sBoogie Woogie, an uptown jitterbug from 1944, with Lionel Hampton’s vibes conjured up on Billy Ruegger’s guitar.
One of the most interesting aspects of the evening was the fact the first half was dedicated to vibraphonists, while the lead parts intended for vibes were transferred to other instruments. Ruegger and his 1955 Gibson ES-175 were called upon time and again for solos across the evening, and rose above and beyond the occasion each and every time.
But then, solos were offered up all around, with pianist Jacob Gelber and drummer Fred Griggs standing out when they weren’t providing the backbone for everyone else to stand upon, and special mention goes out to the phenom on bass, Nick Dunston.
Each and every member of the horns had solos, which varied wonderfully, and they all made the most of them. From the highest cutting edge of the trumpets and flugelhorns blown by Joe Gullace, Krystopher Williams, Dustin Beardsley and Andrew Digrius, to the wonderful wallow from Lauren Wood’s baritone sax, the muscled altos hoisted by Adrian Condis, and Ryan Park-Chan who was presented with this year’s Director’s Award for Commitment and Achievement, to the wailing tenors taken to task by Sam Torres and Luca Provenzano, and those gliding, barking bones punched out into the audience by Chris Misch, Dan Simms, Spencer Randle and Jack Noble, the entire ensemble was excellent, and the solos of each rose like flares off the roiling surface of the musical sun that lit up the Appel room from start to finish.
And that was only up to the intermission.
Stefon Harris: You look happy, and that makes me happy (photo: T. Oduyoye)
The second half opened with the introduction of Stefon Harris, an award winning composer and front man for his own ensemble, Blackout, who have earned four Grammy nominations.
The first number was a warm and buoyant rendition of Hoagy Carmichael’s The Nearness of You followed by four Stefon Harris compositions. Harris said he choose the name Blues for Denial for the work commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center in tribute to Milt Jackson and Lionel Hampton, because it’s hard to play.
He then proceeded to ask the audience for a starting note. Settling on two that were hummed, he began to improvise, at times accompanied by his own voice, sometimes laughing, sometimes scatting along with the notes ringing off the vibes. Rising in tempo and complexity, he came to an abrupt halt, letting the chimes of the last exhilarating run sustain out into the ether before the band joined in for a bopping hothouse of mile-a-minute Jazz.
Part acrobat, part magician, Harris enveloped himself in the round and ringing tones from his vibraphone, only to switch to the woody plunk and rolls of a marimba. But whether his mallets were hammering away at metal or rosewood, or stretching wide to play both at once, he coaxed out melody and raised cacophony like a shaman communing with his spirit guides.
The second Harris composition was a joyful excerpt from a 2007 concert-length suit he calls Dancing Moon, Laughing Stars, commissioned for the 150th anniversary of the Unitarian Church, beautifully arranged for the orchestra by Matt Holman.
Harris confided that it happened to be his 14th wedding anniversary, but then assured the audience that he and his wife had already been celebrating for two weeks, one day for each year, so we wouldn’t worry about him getting in trouble for being truant. And then the orchestra joined him for Let’s Take a Trip to the Sky, written for his wife in 2012. This expansive composition proved transportive. I cannot tell you where my mind traveled to with the soundtrack provided by Harris’ mallets and Holman’s young musicians, but it was a mellow, unhurried place of sweet breezes and cool waters. I was loathe to leave it, until I heard the next tune.
I think my favorite piece was the last. The Velvet Couch has an infectious funky 70s groove punctuated by big, brassy phrasing, pulsing bass runs, and a hip-swinging melody that could have been the theme from some mod caper movie with a cast including James Coburn, Sidney Poitier, and Raquel Welch.
And then, they chose to end the evening as it started, with Benny Goodman, as Harris, Holman, and the orchestra returned for an encore and lit up the Appel room one final time with a jet-fueled rendition of Flyin’ Home.
As Stefon Harris put it, supporting an organization such as the New York Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra is vitally important, “celebrating creativity, celebrating diversity, celebrating tolerance, all these incredible values we hope to instill in our society. It is not just about making great musicians. It is about providing opportunities for people to dream really big.”
And while it is a good and important thing to provide opportunity for our youth to learn, and grow and enrich our culture and society, this is also wonderful entertainment. I mean, come on! World-class big band Jazz, at Lincoln Center, for $20? This is an extraordinary value, and spectacular music, performed spectacularly. So keep on the lookout for their next concert.
It is a wonderful way to spend an evening. Or for that matter an afternoon.
So bring the kids, as you will rarely get a chance to take them to Carnegie Hall at those prices for the thrilling experience of a full classical orchestra, live and in person. And if you don’t have kids, borrow some. Or at least bring a friend. They will be impressed. And that is one man’s word on…
Stefon Harris and his Transcendent Vibes – Jazz at Time Warner Center
Albany High grad Stefon Harris to lead young band at The Egg
Stefon Harris brings young band to Egg
by R.J. DeLuke
January 27, 2016
Stefon Harris
Stefon Harris, one of the world's most renowned vibraharp players, is more than the
leader of a major jazz band and one who gives the art form a modern,
soulful stamp. "It turns out one of my deepest passions is
for education," he said. "I absolutely love it and spend as much time
focusing on figuring out how to use my talent in service of others as I
do working on my abilities as a performer. Teaching has been
unbelievably fulfilling for me, and I'm incredibly hungry to increase my
ability to help others."
THE
MUSIC OF STEFON HARRIS: AN EXTENSIVE VIDEO OVERVIEW, A CROSS SECTION OF
RECORDINGS, MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY, PLUS VARIOUS INTERVIEWS
WITH STEFON HARRIS:
Stefon Harris (born March 23, 1973) is an American jazzvibraphonist. In 1999, the Los Angeles Times called him "one of the most important young artists in jazz"[1] who is "at the forefront of new New York music" and "much in demand as a star sideman".[2] Harris has played with several jazz luminaries including Kenny Barron, Steve Turre, Kurt Elling, and Charlie Hunter, in addition to releasing several of his own critically well-regarded albums. Harris is a resident of Newark, New Jersey.[3]
Education and early career
A 1991 graduate of Albany High School, Harris earned his bachelor's (in 1995) and master's (in 1997) from Manhattan School of Music in New York City.[4]
He credited his teachers in high school, saying they recognized his
"passion for music early on and offered lessons and the chance to bring
home instruments to practice."[4] He has stated that "Music education and performance in ensembles, like the Empire State Youth Orchestra, exposed me to me to other cultures and genres."[4] He also was the captain of the high school wrestling team.[4] Of Manhattan School of Music
he has said: "The School gave me the opportunity to explore the
diversity of both classical and jazz music and find the direction I
wanted to go artistically."
"Alumni
achievement Stefon Harris ’91 – Hitting all the right notes: Stefon
Harris is living his dream," Capital Education -- Spring 2008 (City
School District of Albany's quarterly newsletter), p. 4, found at Albany Schools official website[permanent dead link]. Accessed July 10, 2008.
Kofi Natambu, editor of and contributor to Sound Projections, is a writer, poet, cultural critic, and political journalist whose poetry, essays, criticism, reviews, and journalism have appeared in many literary magazines, journals, newspapers, and anthologies. He has written extensively about music as a critic and historian for many publications, including the Black Scholar, Downbeat, Solid Ground: A New World Journal, Detroit Metro Times, KONCH, the Panopticon Review,Black Renaissance Noire, the Village Voice, the City Sun (NYC), the Poetry Project Newsletter (NYC), and the African American Review. He is the author of a biography Malcolm X: His Life & Work (Alpha Books) and two books of poetry: The Melody Never Stops (Past Tents Press) and Intervals (Post Aesthetic Press). He was the founder and editor of Solid Ground: A New World Journal, a national quarterly magazine of the arts, culture, and politics and the editor of a literary anthology Nostalgia for the Present (Post Aesthetic Press). Natambu has read his work throughout the country and given many lectures and workshops at academic and arts institutions. He has taught American literature, literary theory and criticism, cultural history and criticism, film studies, political science, creative writing, philosophy, critical theory, and music history and criticism (Jazz, Blues, R&B, Hip Hop) at many universities and colleges. He was also a curator in the Education Department of Detroit’s Museum of African American History. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Natambu currently lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Chuleenan.
Stefon Harris 
Stefon’s star began to shine brighter with the release of his Blue Note
premier A CLOUD OF RED DUST. Reflecting on his first recording as a
leader Stefon notes “That’s music that was composed when I was in
college, so, you know, you get to college and you’re in this real
pensive state. A lot of the music in that record is based on literature I
had read and philosophies that were coming about.”
Stefon’s star began to shine brighter with the release of his Blue Note
premier A CLOUD OF RED DUST. Reflecting on his first recording as a
leader Stefon notes “That’s music that was composed when I was in
college, so, you know, you get to college and you’re in this real
pensive state. A lot of the music in that record is based on literature I
had read and philosophies that were coming about.”
element
for me and probably for most musicians. I believe that every song that
I’m ever going to write, for the rest of my life, is already written.
It’s just a matter of me learning to listen for those notes that already
exist on the inside. So, I can’t really take credit for the songs. I
just sit down and I compose one note at a time. I know lots of harmony; I
have a master’s degree in music, so I’ve studied all the tricks, but
when I sit down to compose I try not to think about anything like that
at all. I try to be as emotional as possible. I’ll sit down and I’ll
strike one note and sometimes I’ll hear nothing else for the rest of the
day, and I’ll say o.k. this wasn’t the day. Maybe a week later I’ll
strike that note and a half-hour later I’ll hear a second one, then
maybe three other notes will come in a row; this is with no rhythm, no
orchestration, these are just a collection of intervals. Once I get
about 5 or 6 notes, everything else I can hear really quickly. It’s just
getting the first five or six notes…
element
for me and probably for most musicians. I believe that every song that
I’m ever going to write, for the rest of my life, is already written.
It’s just a matter of me learning to listen for those notes that already
exist on the inside. So, I can’t really take credit for the songs. I
just sit down and I compose one note at a time. I know lots of harmony; I
have a master’s degree in music, so I’ve studied all the tricks, but
when I sit down to compose I try not to think about anything like that
at all. I try to be as emotional as possible. I’ll sit down and I’ll
strike one note and sometimes I’ll hear nothing else for the rest of the
day, and I’ll say o.k. this wasn’t the day. Maybe a week later I’ll
strike that note and a half-hour later I’ll hear a second one, then
maybe three other notes will come in a row; this is with no rhythm, no
orchestration, these are just a collection of intervals. Once I get
about 5 or 6 notes, everything else I can hear really quickly. It’s just
getting the first five or six notes…
something
about being an architect or something like that, but you know, I
can’t even draw a straight line so… Once I discovered music, all my life
I’ve wanted to do this… in combination with education, I’m also very
passionate about education.
something
about being an architect or something like that, but you know, I
can’t even draw a straight line so… Once I discovered music, all my life
I’ve wanted to do this… in combination with education, I’m also very
passionate about education.
Imani WindsThese
are musicians for whom artistic risks are to be taken cautiously and,
once taken, followed through with abandon. At the very least, this type
of conviction garners respect, but being in top form while you do it is
special stuff. Add to this ensemble the collaboration of Stefon Harris —
one of the world’s premier vibraphonists, known for his deft
musicianship and his engaging performances — and this pedigree increases
fourfold, one for each mallet Harris wields.
Stefon Harris
