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Joe Harriott

Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (1928 – 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he became a pioneer of free-form jazz. Born in Kingston, Harriott moved to the United Kingdom as a working musician in 1951 and lived in the country for the rest of his life. He was part of a wave of Caribbean jazz musicians who arrived in Britain during the 1950s, including Dizzy Reece, Harold McNair, Harry Beckett and Wilton Gaynair. 

Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (1928 – 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he became a pioneer of free-form jazz. Born in Kingston, Harriott moved to the United Kingdom as a working musician in 1951 and lived in the country for the rest of his life. He was part of a wave of Caribbean jazz musicians who arrived in Britain during the 1950s, including Dizzy Reece, Harold McNair, Harry Beckett and Wilton Gaynair. 

Hum Dono
Released in 1969, 'Hum Dono' is a legendary 'lost' British jazz plate, described by Trunk as the best modern British jazz LP of all time that will set you back a good £2000 second hand - if you're lucky enough to find a copy. Its beguiling mix of Eas…
Indo-Jazz Suite
The magnificent Indo-Jazz suite by The Joe Harriott Double Quintet Under The Direction Of John Mayer.  Features Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, band leader Joe Harriott on alto saxophone, sitar player Diwan Motihar and more. On Indo-Jazz Suite's release in…
Free Form
Reissue, originally released in 1961. The West Indian-born alto saxophonist Joe Harriott was one of the most convincing boppers outside of the USA, though by the end of the 1950s he was exploring freer musical pastures, and the quintet with which he …
Chronology (Live 1968-69)
Unreleased work from alto genius Joe Harriott – two different slices of material from a very under-recorded point in his career! The first five tracks feature Joe in that back to basics mode he was hitting at the time – working in a unique group that…
Free Form & Abstract, Revisited
Temporary Super Offer! Unheard music from this key reedman on the British avant scene in the 60s – This double album features Joe Harriott working with a quintet that includes Shake Keane on trumpet, Pat Smythe on piano, Phil Seaman on drums, and Col…
Southern Horizons
This is Harriott on the verge of the free form/abstract period, but here, still anchored in the hard bop mode. This is stylish, elegant, tight, swinging; whatever label of appreciation you want to attach to it, this is still fresh music creation. Thi…
BBC Jazz For Moderns
**Edition of 500** First ever commercial release of the 1962 Maida Vale session on 180gr vinyl. The Joe Harriott Quintet was one of the most forward looking in Britain, but no jazz man works in isolation from the past and the great tradition of jazz …
Abstract
"'Audiences now seem to be understanding what we're doing. We've stepped up the amount of free-form to about fifty percent, and all over the country we're getting better receptions for this kind of music than we get for conventional modern jazz.' …
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