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Harvey Wainapel

“Wainapel proves that he is amongst the most imaginative, sensitive and creative saxophonists of the post-Coltrane era…” —The San Francisco Examiner

“Wainapel displayed incredible intimacy with the language of Brazilian music and great stage presence…” —O Globo (Rio de Janeiro)

Can a man serve two masters? If the cat in question is Bay Area reed expert Harvey Wainapel, and the disciplines are jazz and Brazilian music, the answer is a resounding yes. A supremely eloquent clarinetist and a saxophonist of unusual presence and power, Wainapel is a truly ambidextrous artist who has delved deeply into two vast and variegated traditions. Of course, musical currents have ebbed and flowed between the two continental nations for much of the past century, and Wainapel is fully at home at the confluence of those influences (he’s toured widely with Brazilian jazz giants Airto Moreira and Flora Purim). But most of the time he’s got his feet firmly planted in one country or the other, even if his experience in the south shapes his work as an improviser. “The Brazilian side injects a lot of emotion into my playing, and it opened up my concept of melody and harmony,” Wainapel says.

Wainapel (pronounced wine-apple) got his start as a jazz musician, and over the past three decades he’s collaborated with masters such as pianists Kenny Barron and McCoy Tyner, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, drummer Billy Hart, and fellow reed expert Joe Lovano. He made his recording debut as a leader with 1994’s At Home/On the Road (JazzMission Records), a critically hailed post-bop session exploring compositions by the likes of Woody Shaw, Sam Rivers, and Wayne Shorter. Wainapel followed up two years later with Ambrosia: The Music of Kenny Barron (A Records), featuring a suite of Barron’s tunes arranged by Jeff Beal for the Metropole Orchestra and a set of Barron’s Brazilian-inspired music for a sextet with Marcos Silva on keyboards. Kenny Barron himself was on hand for piano duties on Wainapel’s acclaimed 1998 straight-ahead quintet session The Hang (Spirit Nectar/JazzMission), which also features drummer Kenny Wollesen and the brothers Phil and Larry Grenadier on trumpet and bass, respectively.

Wainapel’s first full recording of Brazilian music was 2004’s New Choros of Brazil (Acoustic Music Records/Proteus Entertainment), a gorgeous duo collaboration with legendary Brazilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati. Rather than focusing on Brazilian standards, they assembled a program of previously unrecorded choros by masters like Sergio Assad, Guinga, Sergio Santos, and Dori Caymmi. “I’m really proud of it,” says Wainapel, who plays clarinet exclusively on the album. “That project gave me a lot of confidence.”

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Album Review

Harvey Wainapel: Amigos Brasileiros Vol 2

Read "Amigos Brasileiros Vol 2" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


The beautiful, gentle musical spirit of the late Thiago de Mello--a most influential composer, instrumentalist, arranger and producer from the Amazon (and leader of the Brazilian large ensemble Amazon)--floats like a friendly ghost throughout Amigos Brasileiros Vol. 2. Harvey Wainapel boasts serious jazz chops, on clarinet and saxophone; and serious jazz credentials, including work with saxophonists Joe Henderson and Joe Lovano, vibes master Gary Burton and pianists McCoy Tyner, Ray Charles and Kenny Barron (whom Wainapel honored with ...

266
Album Review

Mark Levine and the Latin Tinge: Isla

Read "Isla" reviewed by Forrest Dylan Bryant


Pianist/educator Mark Levine is a master of straight-ahead Latin jazz. The members of his Latin Tinge quartet all share his orientation towards modern bop, enhanced by a remarkable ability to lay down a pretty mean clave beat. On Isla , the group tackles compositions by Cedar Walton and Kenny Garrett as well as standards of both the Latin and popular songbook variety.On Garrett's “Ain't Nothing But the Blues," the tempo is relaxed and the mood keeps cool. Levine's ...

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Recording

Reed Master Harvey Wainapel's "Amigos Brasileiros Vol. 2" Due For Sept. 2 Release

Reed Master Harvey Wainapel's "Amigos Brasileiros Vol. 2" Due For Sept. 2 Release

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

Saxophonist and clarinetist Harvey Wainapel has been dividing his time between Berkeley and Brazil for nearly 15 years now, and in the course of his expansive Brazilian travels he’s forged deep musical friendships with an array of that country’s notable composers and instrumentalists. Many of them were showcased on Wainapel’s gorgeous 2007 travelogue Amigos Brasileiros, and many more are in the spotlight on its follow-up, Amigos Brasileiros Vol. 2. The new disc will be released by Wainapel’s JazzMission Records on ...

HARVEY WAINAPEL - REVIEWS

“The performance aroused a standing ovation for what was two sets of intricately conceived and played compositions.”—L.A. JAZZ SCENE

“Wainapel plays with the performance attitude which for me is what jazz and improvisation is all about…it’s a pleasure to listen to Harvey’s soulful interpretations.”—JOE LOVANO

“The room is warm, the audience is happy, and he is good…Wainapel’s star shines brighter.” —SKY MAGAZINE (DELTA AIRLINES) Reviewed at La Villa (Paris, France)

“Extraordinary tonal sensibility, wisdom, maturity and inner harmony.” —STUTTGARTER ZEITUNG (Stuttgart, Germany)

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Thief In The Night

Jazzapple Records
2021

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Amigos Brasileiros...

Jazzmission Records
2014

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Amigos Brasileiros

Self Produced
2007

buy

Isla

Left Coast Clave Records
2003

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