{"id":5473,"date":"2022-12-31T23:38:51","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T05:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=5473"},"modified":"2023-07-06T21:14:36","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T02:14:36","slug":"singing-billy-harper-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/singing-billy-harper-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Singing Through the Horn: A Conversation with Billy Harper (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The lineage of jazz has long drawn upon ideas from gospel music, whether Louis Armstrong\u2019s presentation of spirituals or Duke Ellington’s or Mary Lou Williams\u2019 sacred music compositions. However, to some, the connection between faith-based songs and contemporary improvised music seems more tenuous. Artists are more likely to find a space between jazz and hip hop than look to the church. But, as our conversation with saxophonist Billy Harper makes clear, the ties continue to run deep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his nearly six decades as a professional musician, Harper has worked with some of the most significant artists in the music\u2019s contemporary history. He was a Jazz Messenger with Art Blakey, had long working relationships with Gil Evans and Max Roach, and briefly played with Elvin Jones. The saxophonist shared the stage with Lee Morgan on several occasions, including on the evening of the trumpeter\u2019s tragic death. Harper even, as part of the Thad Jones\/Mel Lewis Orchestra took part in Louis Armstrong\u2019s final studio album. For the past decade and a half, he has played a central role in the superpowered assemblage of former sidemen known as The Cookers. And while Harper is not as big a name as some others on the same instrument, his influence on later generations has been secured; among other things, it is near impossible to hear a solo by Kamasi Washington without sensing the elder’s contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given Harper\u2019s bona fides as a saxophonist, it may be surprising to hear that he seems to view its bamboo, rubber, metal, and cork as mere components. His horn is primarily a way for him to sing as he had done in the church choir as a boy. The soulfulness, joy, and mourning one can hear in his solos come as much from doxology as the prominent artists he has worked with during his career. The connection to the gospel music of his youth continues to guide his music, even as the influences of greats like John Coltrane provide some new lyrics to add to the hymnal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon Harper will turn eighty, a milestone celebrated by a series of performances at SMOKE Jazz Club in New York as part of the tenth annual Coltrane festival. In the first half of our conversation with him, we discuss the significance of turning eighty, his views on the saxophone, and his musical development as a youth in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PostGenre: You have a few performances coming up at SMOKE Jazz Club, which are partly to celebrate your eightieth birthday. What does it mean to you to be turning eighty? Do you put much significance into age?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Billy Harper: No, not really. I feel like I am still on top of my life\u2019s work. When I think about eighty years, that is a big number. In my head, I am a long way away from that. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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