Home » Jazz Musicians » Jerome Harris

Jerome Harris

Jerome Harris has won international recognition as one of the more versatile and penetrating stylists of his generation on both guitar and bass guitar.

Jerome's first major professional performances were as bass guitarist with Sonny Rollins in 1978; from 1988 to 1994 he was Rollins' guitarist, and appears on five of his recordings. Over the past two decades, Jerome has also recorded and/or performed live on six continents with such jazz notables as Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, Ray Anderson, Don Byron, Bobby Previte, Oliver Lake, Amina Claudine Myers, Bob Stewart, George Russell, Julius Hemphill, and Bob Moses.

His extensive international work has included several stints in Japan with Sonny Rollins, as well as tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department: to six southeastern African countries with saxophonist Sam Newsome and guitarist Marvin Sewell, to India and southeast Asia with flutist Jamie Baum and guitarist Kenny Wessel, to India and several Middle Eastern countries with vibraphonist Jay Hoggard's group, and to five African nations with saxophonist Oliver Lake's reggae/jazz/funk band "Jump Up."

In 1999, Harris served as arranger, rhythm guitarist and assistant to musical director Vernon Reid in the "Joni's Jazz" tribute concert staged in New York's Central Park--with Joni Mitchell herself in attendance--accompanying singers as diverse in style as Chaka Khan, Jane Siberry, Duncan Sheik and P.M. Dawn. Other Harris credits include a Broadway stint as guitarist in the South African R&B/rock musical Kat and the Kings, as well as work on industrial, commercial and film score dates for Galen Communications Group, Rick Lyon Music, and Richard Eisenstein.

Over the years, Jerome Harris has appeared on more than fifty recordings, making for a lengthy and wide-ranging discography. His most recent CD as a leader is “Rendezvous”the first-ever jazz release by the audio connoisseur magazine Stereophile which captures the drive and grace of his quintet in gorgeous high-resolution sound. On “Hidden in Plain View” (New World), Jerome's acoustic bass guitar underpins an all-star group reinterpreting compositions by jazz trailblazer Eric Dolphy. “In Passing” (Muse) showcases the first of Jerome's groups to utilize a reeds-trombone-vibes-bass-drums line-up. Jerome's debut as a leader was “Algorithms” (Minor Music), featuring saxophonist Marty Ehrlich, who has also appeared on the three subsequent Harris releases.

Harris's scholarly interests have led to an essay, "Jazz on the Global Stage," published in the anthology The African Diaspora: A Musical Perspective, edited by Ingrid Monson (Garland). In this study, he offers an insider's view of the history, present state and future implications of the spread and flourishing of jazz in locales far from its African-American birthplace.

Read more

Tags

5
Album Review

Tima Volozh: Jubilee

Read "Jubilee" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright


Jubilee is the excellent debut release of Russian-born New York-based drummer Tima Volozh. The group was formed in March 2022, assembled for a benefit performance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The rhythm section features bassist Jerome Harris and guitarist Brad Shepik, both of whom are known for their work with drummer Paul Motian, among notable others. Volozh met them while researching Motian's music for his master's degree thesis at New York University. Canadian pianist and composer Noah Franche-Nolan ...

Album Review

Sarah Wilson: Kaleidoscope

Read "Kaleidoscope" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Il percorso musicale di Sarah Wilson—molto diverso da quello dei colleghi trombettisti—ha formato una personalità eclettica, che il suo terzo disco mostra con chiarezza e fa della singolarità una ricchezza. Come sintetizza il titolo, il percorso musicale è un caleidoscopio di situazioni diverse, che ruotano attraverso alcune costanti: delicate folk ballad, estroversi quadri calypso o brani jazzistici di sapore country. Anche grazie ai notevoli partner che le sono vicino, il risultato è ricco e accattivante. Con la Wilson ...

6
Album Review

David Krakauer & Kathleen Tagg: Mazel Tov Cocktail Party!

Read "Mazel Tov Cocktail Party!" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


When David Krakauer and Kathleen Tagg announced the release of Mazel Tov Cocktail Party! , they included this accompanying statement: “This project riffs off a slip of the tongue by a conservative pundit who called Molotov Cocktails “Mazel Tov" Cocktails. We were tickled by the imagery of a “Mazel Tov Cocktail" lighting up the world with hope and joy—instead of being a destructive force... We wanted to take traditional, old dance forms and completely recast them to bring an overt ...

11
Album Review

Ricky Ford: The Wailing Sounds of Ricky Ford: Paul’s Scene

Read "The Wailing Sounds of Ricky Ford: Paul’s Scene" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


Is there a more underrated player than Ricky Ford? On any horn? Perhaps the fact that he took over Paul Gonsalves' chair in the (Mercer) Ellington orchestra when he was still a kid led people to think he had yet to prove himself. There was a brief stint with Charles Mingus. And there was his association with Lionel Hampton as a featured soloist. Ford showed up in a number of bands, most notably with Tom Harrell in Play ...

3
Album Review

Sarah Wilson: Kaleidoscope

Read "Kaleidoscope" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Trumpeter Sarah Wilson has had several unique experiences throughout the development of her musical career, such as writing music for dance productions and puppet shows. That is reflected in the wide range displayed on this aptly-titled CD which draws as much from folk music, classical music, African pop and indie rock as it does from jazz. Wilson has a top flight group of collaborators here, Charles Burnham on violin, John Schott on guitar, her mentor, Myra Melford on ...

Extended Analysis

The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony

Read "The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony" reviewed by Stefano Merighi


Che trionfo per Julius Hemphill! A dispetto delle poche pagine--o righe--che le recenti storie del jazz dedicano al maestro di Fort Worth, Hemphill emerge da questo cofanetto di inediti come sassofonista-improvvisatore-compositore tra i più profondi della musica afroamericana nei decenni compresi tra gli anni '70 e '90. E questa preziosa edizione non solo torna a far luce su repertori e organici già conosciuti dai cultori, ma porta in superficie una gran mole di musica fresca, sorprendente, che ...

10
Album Review

Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony

Read "The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony" reviewed by Mark Corroto


There is something inherently objectionable when a billionaire acquires an artistic masterpiece by say, Leonardo DaVinci or Claude Monet, only to sequester it from public view. You might feel the same about Julius Hemphill's recordings Dogon A.D. (Mbari, 1972) and 'Coon Bid'ness (Arista/Freedom, 1975). Both five star recordings, now out of print, cost a small fortune to acquire. Years ago saxophonist Tim Berne, a disciple of Hemphill, endeavored to rescue the saxophonist's Blue Boyé (Mbari, 1977) by rereleasing it in ...

Read more articles

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Jubilee

Shifting Paradigm Records
2023

buy

The Wailing Sounds of...

Whaling City Sound
2022

buy

Mazel Tov Cocktail...

Table Pounding Records
2022

buy

Then & Now

Postcards
2022

buy

The Boyé...

New World Records
2021

buy

Kaleidoscope

Brass Tonic
2021

buy

Adoration of the Earth

From: Jubilee
By Jerome Harris

Parallax

From: Resonant Bodies
By Jerome Harris

Aspiration

From: Kaleidoscope
By Jerome Harris

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.