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Sam Harris

Sam Harris's life in music began at the age of two, when, thanks to incredible foresight, his mother put him in early piano lessons. Sam quickly excelled in his classical training, and by the age of ten was competing regularly on the local and statewide levels. At Booker T. Washington Arts Magnet High School in Dallas, Texas, he discovered jazz and was soon consumed with the dual pursuit of classical and improvisatory music. In 2004 he moved to New York to attend the Manhattan School of Music on scholarship, where he studied privately with teachers like Garry Dial, Jason Moran, and John Riley. He has played in bands led by forward-thinking musicians such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Logan Richardson, and Linda Oh, and is quickly gaining recognition as a new voice on the music scene.

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4
Album Review

Chris Oatts: Personalities

Read "Personalities" reviewed by Victor L. Schermer


Saxophonist Chris Oatts is a graduate of the jazz program at Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance and the nephew of revered saxophonist—and faculty member of Temple University—Dick Oatts. This reviewer heard Chris Oatts at Chris' Jazz Café (similarity in the names purely coincidental) in September, 2021, with his quintet featuring one of his teachers and mentors, Terell Stafford, on trumpet. In that set, Oatts stayed within the bebop/hard bop traditions and showed exceptional sophistication, inventiveness, and resilience ...

10
Album Review

Ambrose Akinmusire: On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment

Read "On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment" reviewed by Chris May


Trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire rings the changes admirably from album to album. On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment is the most stripped down of his Blue Note outings (it is his fifth album for the label). It is made with a quartet. There is no second horn. The sound is ECM-like in its monastic simplicity. At fifty minutes it is also Akinmusire's most concise work to date. And while substantial portions of The Imagined Savior Is Far ...

1
Album Review

Melissa Aldana: Visions

Read "Visions" reviewed by Serena Antinucci


L'ultimo progetto della sassofonista cilena Melissa Aldana, governato da invasioni e tensioni musicali, è il ritratto schietto della vita nel suo continuo divenire, fatto di stacchi improvvisi, passi indietro e sguardi critici sulla realtà. In Visions (Motéma Music, 2019) ci sono architetture sonore difficili da verbalizzare e, a volte, le parole scompaiono timidamente sommerse dai suoni. Gli undici brani del disco sono il risultato di un profondo studio, di una vitalità trascinante, a volte mista al dolore. Aldana, ...

10
Album Review

Melissa Aldana: Visions

Read "Visions" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


Compositional and instrumental virtuosity always walks along a razor's edge between self-indulgence and purposeful accomplishment. On Visions, sought after saxophonist Melissa Aldana proves that she doesn't only master balancing this edge but that she can also go beyond the complexities of structure, scales and improvisation and naturally create her very own musical aesthetic. In interplay with an all-star cast of equally dynamic sidemen—Sam Harris on keys, Pablo Menares on bass, as well as drummer Tommy Crane and Joel Ross adding ...

15
Album Review

Ambrose Akinmusire: A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard

Read "A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard" reviewed by Mark E. Gallo


Live albums can be an iffy proposition. Not so with this double CD set recorded live at New York's legendary Village Vanguard. California born Akinmusire has worked with the same band for a number of years and their communication is apparent. Pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown supply the support and the embellishment appropriate and compliment the trumpet master throughout. In a program that rides an emotional rollercoaster, Akinmusire offers 16 original compositions over ...

15
Album Review

Ambrose Akinmusire: A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard

Read "A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Live recordings at the venerable Village Vanguard are immediately part of a storied tradition. Fully aware of the spirit of the place, trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire brought his longtime quartet with pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown--but he took the unusual step of performing all new, original compositions. This is his third Blue Note album as a leader, following When the Heart Emerges Glistening (2011) and the imagined savior is far easier to paint (2014). He also ...

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"He plays from a place of sincerity that sets him apart from his counterparts. His willingness to straddle the fence of jazz piano history allows him to create a fresh take on jazz... I will be watching and listening to his every move." -Jason Moran
Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

5 years private teaching experience for jazz and classical from 4 years old to adult.

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Personalities

BCM&D Records
2022

buy

On The Tender Spot Of...

Blue Note Records
2020

buy

Visions

Motéma Music
2019

buy

A Rift in Decorum:...

Blue Note Records
2017

buy

La Madrina

From: Visions
By Sam Harris

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