For great acoustic straight ahead playing.... check out any of his work on the album (cd?) Echoes of Harlem/There Was A Time (on Enja, I believe). Great rhythm section featuring Kenny Barron and Cecil McBee. As an added bonus, he does two solo saxophone tracks on the cd.

He's featured on a John Scofield cd (for about half of it) called "Hand Jive" and his work on that is excellent.

For some of his best known funkier work, check out "Freedom Jazz Dance" and "Listen Here". On the cut "Listen Here", my recollection is that he utilizes a very unique, characteristic Eddie Harris device. He plays a short vamp in the low end of his horn and answers with a melodic phrase in the middle or upper register of his horn. He'll do this for a while and the effect is to set up a killer groove for himself... it seems like he's trading 4's (or whatever length, probably 2's) with himself and also accompanying himself. Very grooving and exciting!

Mike

 

have to start with the obvious - the hit recording of Les McCann and Eddie Harris "Compared To What" on the Swiss Movement album recorded live at Montreux, 1969

and Part 2

 

I always liked this one mostly because it is a two-for-one and it has him playing "It Was a Very Good Year" two octaves in the altissimo.
Eddie Harris should have been recognized as "The Hardest Working man In The Jazz Business". I have a friend that worked with him that told me Eddie Harris could book tours anywhere!
http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Mean-Gr...s-Eddie-Harris/dp/B00000335A/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1210250819&sr=8-4

 

"The Electrifying Eddie Harris" is one of these old two LPs on one CD reissues. You can "Listen Here".

 

Any Eddie Harris Recording will be great. He has a really, REALLY, difficult Technique book called the Intervalistic Technique for Jazz Improvisation and it has a discography in it.

Chris

 

If you like Eddie Harris, check out Eddie Harris' book - The Intervallistic Concept.

I got given this years ago and there were some interesting exercises in it. Not my favourite book but a bit of fun I seem to recall.

 

Cold duck time is a great tune to know for Jam sessions. I've been to two of them where they new the tune. Nice, easy blues tune, easy to transcribe.

 

Les McCann and Eddie Harris. One side was Compared To What. The other side was Cold Duck Time. What a great album.

 

Exodus To Jazz is his first record, and it's fantastic. Another good one is a live record at the Keystone Corner with Jimmy Smith, I don't know the name offhand but it should still be available.

 

The album with Jimmy Smith is called "All the way live". This is the grooviest sax playing (and organ of course) of all times - just run and buy it.
Cheers
Bjorn

 

I've studied him for years. Try to get the double cd The In sound/Mean Greens.
Transcribe the Love for sale solo. Also get the book he wrote. It starts out pretty easy, and get harder towards the end. I still practise from it sometimes.
For listening pleasure you could also get the albums Bad luck is all I have, Is it in, Silver cycles, I need some money, Eddie Harris sings the blues.
I used to play his tunes all the time, complete with the electric setup. I still do sometimes. Great stuff.

 

Check out www.eddieharris.com

 

Or this.

 

Wow, that is so superbad! Jodie Christian on piano, Melvin Jackson on bass, and I think Billy Hart on drums.

 

`Listen here/E.H.Funk project` and `last Concert` are also good . The intervalistic concept didn´t gave me much-mostly scales that jump up and down between two oktaves-if I remember right. Eddie was and is a strong influence, I always liked his playing a lot. Hand Jive with John Scofield is great and all his classics as well!

 

Go to www.johnnylippiett.com for some very nice solo's already transcribed.

 

"shorty rides again" from the album 'second movement' is a great piece to take a peek at the genius of eddie harris through transcribing it. i'd wanted to sound like eddie harris on guitar and i transcribed about a few dozen measures but playing those crazy wide interval, angular lines proved too difficult on guitar. one day i'm gonna give it a whirl on soprano sax. i imagine this piece is what his "intervallistic method" prepares you for.