The International Association of Jazz Record Collectors latest Journal, Winter 2006 (Vol. 39 No. 1) has my review of a British biography of Joe Harriott. I actually submitted it two years or so ago, but the IAJRC Journal gone through a state of turmoil, missing some issues.
Since Alan Robertson’s Joe Harriott: Fire in His Soul, has yet to be picked up by an American publisher, my review is probably as untimely now, as it was when I wrote it. I’m glad to see the IAJRC Journal back on its feet, and it is nice to see the review in print. I still think Robertson proved a deft biographer, and I certainly believe Harriott’s music deserves a wider audience. His fusions with Indian classical music are often in heavy rotation in my CD player and on my i-pod. His groundbreaking avant-garde music is also rewarding. As I wrote two-plus years ago:
“When casually listening to Harriott’s free form music, it may sound like advanced hard-bop, but it when one concentrates on the melody, it elusively slips away. Harriott was similarly elusive in life. Despite the passion of his playing, he could seem cool and aloof to many colleagues. Although he was widely recognized as one of the leading British jazz musicians, he ultimately slipped out of view. Robertson’s biography is a noble attempt to bring attention to Harriott’s remarkably diverse musical legacy. Like import editions of Harriott’s CDs, Fire in His Soul is worth searching for.”