Every year the BargaJazz Festival features the participation of one of the Jazz legends – and this years XXII edition is no exception. The guest of honour will be the composer and trumpet player Tom Harrell – a great in the field of contemporary Jazz.
Tom Harrell will play with the BargaJazz Orchestra some of his compositions arranged for the occasion by the contestants, directed as always by Bruno Tommaso. It is a real treat for us that such a musician has accepted the challenge to be the central feature of the Festival.
On the 26th of August there will be the added bonus of a concert together with the renown Italian pianist Dado Moroni with whom he recorded the outstanding recording “Humanity”.
Giancarlo Rizzardi
TOM HARRELL
This American trumpet player was born in in Illinois but grew-up in California and first came to the publics attention early on when he joined Stan Kenton’s orchestra a s a young twenty year old, before passing on to Woody Herman and then to Horace Silver’s group with a move to New York where he quickly became established as one of the most sought after trumpet players on the international scene – playing with the likes of Lee Konitz, Mel Lewis and George Russell.
In 1983 he begins a lengthy collaboration with Phil Woods and starts to record as leader; after this in 1989 he puts together his first group with Joe Lovano, Danilo Pérez, Peter Washington e Bill Goodwin. His collaboration with Dado Moroni is a long term project which recently produced a wonderful duo recording in which “The long dreamy melodic trumpet lines combine perfectly with the muscular and pyrotechnic piano of Moroni, producing a spectacular encounter on a level of pure poetry” (All About Jazz). Harrell displays great originality in his improvisation and his logically constructed phrases are always elegant and expressed on the instrument with a splendid voice, influenced by the styles of Blue Mitchell and above all Clifford Brown.
His compositions have become part of the international repertoire and are played in the USA and Europe, published by J. Aebersold: they range from meditative ballads to highly rhythmic tracks inspired by rhythm’n’blues or even world music, and are always appreciated by improvisers because Harrell composes with the live performance in mind: “I like to think of my music as a play of of colours over a rhythm” he has said “it’s like inviting the listeners to visit an art gallery to view an exhibition of various paintings. We express our feelings through timbres and colours within our world of sense, so as to then transcend them and enter the spiritual dimension”.
Francesco Martinelli
Il BargaJazz Festival, XXII edizione, vede come ogni anno protagonista la musica di un grande del jazz. L’ospite d’onore per il 2009 sarà il trombettista e compositore americano, Tom Harrell, grande personalità del jazz contemporaneo
A Barga Tom Harrell suonerà con la BargaJazz Orchestra, diretta come sempre da Bruno Tommaso, alcune sue composizioni arrangiate dai concorrenti appositamente per lui. Ci fa molto piacere che questo grande musicista abbia accettato la sfida di BargaJazz che richiede un grande impegno.
Tom Harrell sarà inoltre protagonista il 26 Agosto con l’eccezionale pianista italiano Dado Moroni con il quale ha realizzato un bellissimo album dal titolo Humanity
Giancarlo Rizzardi
TOM HARRELL
Il trombettista americano – nato nell’Illinois ma cresciuto in California – è arrivato alla notorietà quando ad appena vent’anni è entrato prima nell’orchestra di Stan Kenton e poi in quella di Woody Herman per passare infine nel gruppo di Horace Silver e trasferirsi a New York, dove diventa uno dei trombettisti più ricercati della scena internazionale, suonando tra l’altro con Lee Konitz, Mel Lewis e George Russell. Nel 1983 inizia una lunga collaborazione con Phil Woods e inizia a registrare come leader; dopo aver lasciato Woods nel 1989 crea il suo primo gruppo con Joe Lovano, Danilo Pérez, Peter Washington e Bill Goodwin. La sua collaborazione con Dado Moroni è un progetto di lunga data ed ha prodotto recentemente un bellissimo disco in duo in cui “Le linee melodiche lunghe e trasognate della tromba si incontrano a meraviglia con il pianismo muscolare e pirotecnico di Moroni, per un incontro condotto mirabilmente sul piano della pura poesia” (All About Jazz). Harrell è un improvvisatore di notevole originalità e le sue frasi dalla costruzione logica ed elegante sono sempre espresse con una splendida voce strumentale, influenzata dagli stili di Blue Mitchell e soprattutto Clifford Brown. Le sue composizioni sono entrate nel repertorio internazionale, suonate negli USA e in Europa, e pubblicate da J. Aebersold: possono essere ballad meditative o brani fortemente ritmati ispirati al rhythm’n’blues o alla world music, ma sono sempre molto amate dagli improvvisatori perchè Harrell compone con in mente la performance dal vivo: “Mi piace pensare alla mia musica come un gioco di colori sopra un ritmo” ha detto “è come invitare gli ascoltatori a visitare una galleria d’arte a vedere una mostra di quadri diversi. Noi esprimiamo i nostri sentimenti attraverso i timbri e i colori del nostro mondo dei sensi, per poi trascenderli ed entrare nel mondo spirituale”.
Francesco Martinelli
Articles and Quotes about Tom Harrell – Excerpt from Esquire, by Jonathan Eig:
…As he raises his trumpet, the golden spotlight strikes stars on the horn’s bell. He takes a deep breath, and for one frozen moment, all is quiet. Tranquility hangs on an unplayed note.
The trumpeter begins to blow, playing silky ribbons of sixteenth notes that rise and fall. Behind him, the band beats a Latin-jazz rhythm. Then he tosses in a handful of slower, cloudier notes that curl and fade away…read the full story
Excerpt from the Los Angeles Times, by Don Heckman:
…There is a brief moment of silence as Harrell takes his position at the front, nods to the musicians. Without a word of instruction, he grunts a count-off.
The rhythm section digs into a slow groove, and the saxophone player nods in rhythm with the time. But Harrell, except for a slight trembling in one hand, appears oblivious, standing in a position of near immobility, apparently disconnected to the point of inertia.
As his time comes to play, however, he slowly brings his horn to his lips and suddenly, without warning, fills it with a stream of music bursting with vitality and life. The contrast is astonishing, as he reels off a string of dazzling, hard swinging, improvised choruses…read the full story
• “A brilliant trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer.”
–Whitney Balliett, The New Yorker
• “There is no one in jazz today writing with more intelligence, depth and heart than Tom Harrell.”
–Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
• “The premier trumpeter of his generation.”
–David Hajdu, Entertainment Weekly
• “A master of melody.”
–Tom Masland, Newsweek
• “One of the top trumpeters in jazz for the past two decades and one of the music’s most prolific and gifted composers.”
–Joe Cooper, New York Observer
• “He is that rare improviser who never resorts to cliché, a talent who seems to have an underground reserve of melody.”
–Tom Moon, Musician
• “His playing is sublime, with a dark warm tone and a poetic sense of melody…his music makes you ponder the heart.”
–Chris Norris, New York – Copyright © 2001 Tom Harrell. All Rights Reserved.