Tom Harrell

Tom Harrell – Something Gold, Something Blue (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · October 9, 2023 · Comments off

Superb trumpeter Tom Harrell, who has been releasing recordings as a leader since 1989, has a new album out, Something Gold, Something Blue, on HighNote featuring fellow trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, as well as guitarist Charles Altura, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Johnathan Blake. Harrell is a prolific arranger and composer and a mysterious yet mesmerizing presence in concert and a regular in the recording studio. His resume is impressive, with contributions to bands led by Stan Kenton, Horace Silver and Joe Lovano. He has written scores for ballets and arrangements for symphony orchestras and his last HighNote album “First Impressions” (HCD 7276) was in the Top Ten Best Jazz albums of 2015 in the 64th Annual Downbeat Critic’s Poll while Akinmusire and Harrell took the top two slots in the trumpet category in the same poll.

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Tom Harrell – Infinity (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · October 9, 2023 · Comments off

Tom Harrell is a master at making his trumpet sound pure, clear and graceful in a manner like no one else. When he plays, he projects an intense feeling of well-being and engages in inspired and lively improvisations. On his latest record, Harrell has invited Mark Turner on the saxophone (another incredible sound), Charles Altura on electric and acoustic guitar, Ben Street on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums. Along with this wonderful band, the trumpet player reminds us that he is not only one of the most touching soloists of his generation, but also a famous composer and a precise band leader, collaborative and always listening to his companions. At 72 years old, Harrell teaches us a lesson in jazz perfection. The harmonic and melodic whole he creates on the record should not come as a surprise for anyone aware of Harrell’s background. Band member with Woody Herman, Horace Silver and Phil Woods, sidemen with George Russell, Bill Evans, Gerry Mulligan and Charlie Haden, Tom Harrell has recorded more than thirty albums since the end of the 1970’s. – Max Dembo

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Tom Harrell – Oak Tree (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · September 16, 2022 · Comments off

In the course of his career, Tom Harrell has left his mark across a wide range of styles, including propulsive bebop, rhythmic Afro-Cuban jazz, studied classical compositional procedures and soothing smooth jazz. In any Tom Harrell performance or recording you will search in vain for Freudian high-note jabs and dazzling displays of over-heated velocity full of empty technique. There’s a remarkable ease and affability to Oak Tree, a recording which features melodies that occasionally sound as inevitable as life itself. And these melodies are played by a quartet which may be one of Harrell’s most symbiotic ensembles; the fluency of superb pianist Luis Perdomo sometimes providing extensions and commentary to Harrell’s improvisational thoughts, the extremely musical drummer Adam Cruz constantly adjusting both his tone and the intensity of his pulse as each composition dictates and bassist Ugonna Okegwo a secure, steady anchor and superb improviser. As for the leader himself, he favors concise, intense solos where the supremacy of his improvising abilities lies as much in what he chooses to leave unsaid as what he allows to peal out from the bell of his horn. You can write volumes and use any superlatives you like to describe Harrell’s playing but, simply put, he is one of those rare figures who has extended the communicative possibilities of the jazz trumpet while establishing himself as one of the art form’s most important composers.

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