Jazz

Everette Harp - First Love (2009)

2009-12-18T14:39:37Z

Everette Harp - First Love (2009)


01. Council of Nicea, The 
02. Before You Leave 
03. Soul Fries 
04. Blossom 
05. First Love 
06. Texas Groove 
07. Goin' Through Changes 
08. Central Park West 
09. Departure 
10. Our Love is Here To Stay 

Everette Harp (Sax Alto, Soprano, Tenor); Lenny Castro (Percussion); 
George Duke (Piano, Electric, Fender Rhodes, Soloist); 
James Genus (Bass Electric, Bass Upright); Dwight Sills (Guitar); 
Reggie C. Young (Trombone).

On First Love, contemporary jazz saxophonist and composer Everette Harp moves deeper into the space he addressed on 2007's excellent My Inspiration. Whereas on that album, he was still digging deeply into his own brand of funky jazz, he was also looking for something. His soloing on the album was sharper, brighter, and more complex, but his arrangements and production style were slick enough to get his jams on the radio. On First Love, it sounds like Harp found what he was seeking. In the liners, he mentions some of his heroes like John Coltrane and Dave Brubeck, and how his first hearing records like Soultrane and Time Out made him fall in love with the music. Produced by George Duke, this set is one of the most remarkable and thought-provoking recordings to come out of the contemporary jazz genre in ages. The meld of acoustic and electric instruments here is perfectly balanced. Melodic and harmonic structures are much more complex and don't always fit the C-jazz cookie-cutter mold. Check his original "The Council of Nicea," one of the most satisfying things here. Harp's tenor is accompanied by James Genus' acoustic bass, and some spot-on breaks by Terri Lyne Carrington, a beautiful bluesy, hard bop trumpet solo by Michael "Patches" Stewart, and Lenny Castro's hand percussion. Directing the band is Duke on Fender Rhodes with help from the exquisite if understated electric guitar work from Dwight Sills. The ballad "Before You Leave" follows suit with Carrington providing elegant brushwork. These are pretty basic straight-ahead numbers. This is not to suggest that there isn't some funky work here, too. Check Duke's "Soul Fries" with Genus on electric bass. The funkiness of the Rhodes is smokin' and the blues factor in Harp's playing with Stewart gets a solid groove going behind a tight, sophisticated arrangement. Duke contributes one more cut to the set, the killer Latin-ized fusion funk of "Departure." It's a midtempo ballad, but its knotty bridges and Genus' electric bass work turn it all inside out. The biggest surprise here, however, is in the beautifully restrained but intensely soulful reading of Coltrane's "Central Park West." Here is the place where Harp's mastery of the tenor horn is on full display with an abundance of warmth and depth. It is an absolutely gorgeous reading of the tune. Given the half-acoustic/half-electric division of the tracks here, the originals are easily the most sophisticated, confident, and masterfully played of Harp's career thus far, and the covers fit in seamlessly, making this his finest recording to date. ---Thon Jurek, Rovi

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Everette Harp - For The Love (2000)

2012-02-07T20:57:35Z

Everette Harp - For The Love (2000)


01. So Automatic [04:34]
02. I Just Can't Let Go [04:42]
03. I Miss You With Me [04:52]
04. I Can't Take It Anymore [03:59]
05. Right Back Atcha [04:39]		play
06. Love Conditionally [04:46]
07. We Don't Have To Say Goodbye [05:15]
08. Dancin With You [04:52]
09. Where Were You When I Needed You [04:44]
10. Put It Where You Want It [04:39]		play

Personnel: 
Everette Harp (vocals, soprano saxophone, programming); 
Gerard LaBeaud (vocals, various instruments); 
20/Twenty (vocals); 
Buster, Shavoni (various instruments); 
Jerry Hey, Gary Grant, Bill Rekenback (horns); 
George Duke (piano, keyboards); 
Tim Heintz (organ, keyboards); 
Ricky Peterson (keyboards); 
Tony Maiden, Mike Sims, A. Ray Fuller, David Barry, Paul Jackson Jr., Jeff Golub (guitar); 
Alex Al, Larry Kimpel (bass); 
Li'l John (drums); 
Lenny Castro (percussion).

High ambition and a mix of middle-of-the-road funk with straight-ahead and other stylistic ventures has always been the popular saxman's trademark as an artist and performer. On For the Love, it seems like Everette Harp enjoys the challenge of letting go of pretension, focusing on the love of song, and, above all, keeping things simple. To help him find that crucial balance, Harp brought in veteran producer Steve Dubin (George Benson, Al Jarreau, Richard Elliot) to co-write (with Harp) and produce six of the tracks. Not surprisingly, the Dubin-produced tracks hit the mark every time. The retro-funk opening track, "So Automatic," begins with Harp's alto cruising along over a basic, chunky hip-hop groove, with minimal synth and wah-wah guitar enhancement; Harp returns quickly to the catchy hook after each quick verse, enhancing the emotion of the tune by doubling his horn rather than going crazy with improvisation, as he might have in the past. The only exotic production touch on "I Just Can't Let Go" is a simple synth-generated vibes harmony that recurs at the beginning of each verse; the rest of the tune finds Harp just playing a pretty, low-key melody over a clicking groove. Most of the soulful, Sanborn-like "Right Back Atcha" is about Harp's increasingly aggressive sax over the moody, bluesy atmospheres created by keyboardist Ricky Peterson. Peterson's Hammond B-3 is also the most prominent outside harmony feature on "Love Conditionally." Two of the best tracks on For the Love are pretty much sax and guitar duets. "Dancin' With You" has a sensuous groove and a slightly bluesy keyboard harmony underneath a snappy note-for-note duet with Doc Powell. All this points towards Harp's love for the blues, but he saves his best chops for last, a rollicking jam with Jeff Golub's crisp electric guitar on a brassy cover of the Crusaders' classic "Put It Where You Want It." Harp drives away the usual slick polish here, opening the track with loose call-and-response guitar-sax pleasantries before letting Golub lead the melodic way. Then the saxman joins in and the two ride an explosive wave over a sizzling horn section. Towards the middle, the two take breaks from the main melody for some raw and fiery solo action. It's a more organic approach than Harp has ever taken, and it's also one of his best-ever tracks. --- Jonathan Widran, allmusic.com

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Everette Harp - My Inspiration (2007)

2014-10-22T15:52:46Z

Everette Harp - My Inspiration (2007)


1	Juke Joint			
2	All Jazzed Up (And Nowhere to Go)			
3	In Time 
4	Old School			
5	Funky Palisades			
6	In My Father's Eyes			
7	Chasin'			
8	Wait 4 U			
9	Don't Look Any Further			
10	My Inspiration

Everette Harp: alto and tenor saxophones, keyboards, vocal; 
Rex Rideout: keyboards;
A. Ray "The Weeper" Fuller: guitar; 
Alex Al: bass; 
Teddy Campbell: drums; 
Lenny Castro: percussion; 
Dan Fonero: trumpet and flugelhorn; 
Nick Lane: trombone; 
James Lloyd: keyboards (1); 
Michael Ripol: nylon acoustic guitar (3); 
Jeff Lorber: keyboards (5); 
"Big" Jim Wright: organ, piano and Fender Rhodes (6); 
Dwight Sills: nylon-string acoustic and electric guitar (2, 8, 10); 
Lauren Evans: background vocals (9, 10); 
George Duke: piano (7); 
Brian Simpson: piano (8); 
Doc Powell: nylon-string acoustic guitar (9).

Where does inspiration come from? For some musicians they find it in joy and others in pain. Everette Harp's My Inspiration is a tribute to his father, who passed away in February 2007.

Harp knows when to step up and lead the show and when to lay back and let his fellow players stretch out a bit. The aptly named "Juke Joint" is written by Pieces of A Dream head honcho James Lloyd, who also contributes a funky solo on Fender Rhodes electric piano, an instrument that fell out of favor with the waning of fusion jazz but now seems to be enjoying something of a return. Harp's saxophone is augmented with support from trumpeter/flugelhornist Dan Fornero and trumpeter Nick Lane.

There is a kind of back-in-the-day feel to My Inspiration, where the emphasis was often placed on going into the studio, just playing and seeing what happened instead of dutifully trying to crank out a hit. Seven of the ten tracks are originals written by Harp, and the only cover tune is "Don't Look Any Further" At this point in his career Harp seems focused on what kind of sound he can squeeze out of his alto and tenor saxophones as "All Jazzed Up (and Nowhere to Go), "In Time" and "Old School" make clear. The emphasis here is in being authentic and true to the soulfulness of making music over crafting radio-friendly fodder.

That doesn't mean Harp isn't working hard here. He sounds inspired, liberated and downright sanctified on the lively, yet delicate, "In My Father's Eyes." Here Harp exalts and shows reverence to his late father, the Reverend Miller M. Harp, to whom My Inspiration is dedicated. Harp achieves lift-off as he blows with a fierce passion. Major thumbs-up to "Big" Jim Wright's quietly effective embellishments on organ, piano and Fender Rhodes that add to the poignancy of the track.

"Don't Look Any Further" has been covered by various artists from ex-Temptations vocalist Dennis Edwards to British dance diva Heather Small and M People, and while it does showcase Doc Powell's guitar to good effect, it seems a tad out of place here. There are no outright losers here, but after what has come before the pop sensibilities of "Don't Look Any Further" seem to belong on a different album.

Harp puts down the sax to deliver a rare vocal turn on "My Inspiration." As a singer Harp is merely adequate, but it's the last song on the album, and by this time Harp has built up a reservoir of good will. How can you be mad at a son telling the world how much he loves his father?

Back in 1962 Sonny Rollins would spend days walking the Brooklyn Bridge playing his sax and changing up his style. That was his inspiration. Harp has found his within the loss of a loved one, but My Inspiration is a celebration and not the least bit mournful. ---Jeff Winbush, allaboutjazz.com

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