{"title":"Billy Harper","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eBilly Harper arrived in New York in 1966 from Houston via North Texas State University, where he had become the first Black member of the school's One O'Clock Lab Band, and within two years he was playing with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Stints with Gil Evans, Elvin Jones, Max Roach, and the Thad Jones\/Mel Lewis Big Band followed, placing Harper at the centre of the post-bop and spiritual jazz world through the late 1960s and 1970s. His compositions \"Priestess\" and \"Thoroughbred\", contributed to Gil Evans' \"Svengali\" album (1973), became two of the most played pieces in that band's live repertoire. As a leader, Harper's debut \"Capra Black\" (Strata East, 1973) established the terms of his music: a Texas tenor muscularity rooted in R\u0026amp;B and blues, pushed through the modal and free language of Coltrane into something that remained deeply soulful without sacrificing intensity. His institutional significance to the European avant-garde labels is unusual even by jazz standards: his 1975 album \"Black Saint\" was the first record released on that label, and his \"In Europe\" (1979) inaugurated the Soul Note catalogue. He remains active, touring internationally with a quintet that includes trumpeter Freddie Hendrix and pianist Francesca Tanksley, and his original albums on Strata East, Black Saint, and Soul Note are among the most sought-after records in those catalogues.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"billy-harper-soran-bushi-b-h-1978-japanese-denon-vinyl-lp","title":"Billy Harper - Soran-Bushi B.H. (1978 Japanese Denon Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVinyl\u003c\/b\u003e: EX\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSleeve\u003c\/b\u003e:\u003cspan\u003e VG+\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObi:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eVG+\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur grading system explained \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/dpbg4u-d1.myshopify.com\/pages\/secondhand-grading-guide\"\u003e\u003cb\u003ehere\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003ePhoto is of the actual item.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBilly Harper - \u003cem\u003eSoran-Bushi, B.H.\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP - 1978 Japanese Denon (YX-7522-ND, Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd.)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBilly Harper moved to New York in 1966 and spent the following decade playing with Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Lee Morgan and Gil Evans before recording his own leader dates. This album was his fifth, recorded in December 1977 at Sound Ideas Studios in New York, produced by Yoshio Ozawa for the Denon label's Denon Jazz PCM In New York series. Jim McCurdy engineered; Kaoru Yamamoto and Takeaki Anazawa handled the PCM recording. Reginald Workman, Harper's colleague from the Elvin Jones group, served as A\u0026amp;R director.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Trying to Get Ready\" opens with the full quintet at pace, both Hart and Arnold driving from the first bar. Harper plays with the post-Coltrane intensity that defines his best work. Long phrases, the tenor pushed hard, the harmonic language open enough that the rhythm section can pull in multiple directions at once. \"Loverhood\" is the most lyrical piece on the record; reviewers have pointed to Harper's solo there as one of the finest he recorded in the 1970s. The title track takes up all of Side B. \"Soranbushi\" is a traditional Japanese fisherman's song from Hokkaido, the melody descending in a way that lends itself to Harper's extended modal approach. The 16-minute arrangement retains enough of the original melody to make the source material identifiable, then moves steadily outward.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the original 1978 Japanese Denon pressing (YX-7522-ND), manufactured by Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd. It was a \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eJapan-only release and never issued commercially in the US.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Denon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43499576557627,"sku":null,"price":110.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/IMG_6888.jpg?v=1778367245"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/billy-harper.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}