| Jazz |
In Stan Harrison’s music, one finds a way of writing that is quite close to rock—a complex form without the pursuit of rigorous aesthetics, preferring a raw form that contrasts strikingly with his saxophone. It’s hard not to be moved by these offerings, as one is drawn in from the first track into an urban flow. It’s worth noting that Stan Harrison, born in Philadelphia, raised in New Jersey, and a New York resident for several decades (with a two-year stay in London along the way), is a saxophonist/composer who has traveled the world to play and/or record, soundcheck, rehearse, travel by bus, plane, dine, laugh, express emotions, etc., with David Bowie, Serge Gainsbourg, Radiohead, Laurie Anderson, They Might Be Giants, The Borneo Horns, Talking Heads, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Duran Duran, Taylor Mac, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Stevie Van Zandt, and many others.
His cultural background is thus one of the key drivers of his creation. Harrison is also a jazz musician, having been one since he discovered the music of Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. He recently studied composition with the incredible composer Huang Ruo and previously with Dennis Sandole (with whom he also studied improvisation and music in general) and Robert Moevs. He belongs to a growing number of musicians who feel just as comfortable listening to Elliott Carter as to James Carter; Anton Webern as to Anna Weber. The world of music is his domain, to awkwardly borrow a worn-out cliché, and as one will hear in his distinctive music, there is no obvious way to define it.
There is often no way to define the music of a true creator. Here, by the fourth track, we return to a more conventional form of jazz, but the need for deconstruction, which is the very essence of Stan Harrison’s music, remains ever-present. This makes one listen to the album in the same way as some albums by the band Yes or even “Sell Out Me,” the double album by The Who. There is a very European element in this style of musical writing. The musician, in what is a record in two years, grasped the essence of what Europe can inspire artistically—at least at that time, since today, Europe is scarcely inspiring. Here’s what the musician says about his album *Some Poor Soul Has a Fire*, and this brings me to speak in the first person. On one hand, the music on this album is quite varied. Once you’ve listened to “They Must Be Praying” or “All That Remains,” you might be surprised to hear a track like “It’s Time to Put the Dog to Bed.” “What’s Left Unsaid” is light years away from “Introduction to a Continuation/To Be Continued…”, which is as far from anything else I’ve written as any other track, except for “Some Poor Soul Has a Fire.” “Joy” could (or could not) be considered the piece that ties everything together, completing the loop, ending on a positive note, reminiscent of the kind of music heard at the beginning with the opening notes of “(Smaller Than) The Big Picture” and “The Details.”
In nine tracks, Harrison plunges us into his universe, certainly not accessible to everyone, but those who know jazz in depth, in its various forms, should easily find their way. Kim Cass (bass), Steven Crammer (drums), and Elias Stemeseder (piano, Una Cords, synths) form the backbone of the album. Guitar virtuoso Michael Gregory Jackson is present on two tracks, and a string quartet—Sara Caswell (violin), Erin Benim Mayland (violin), Carla Fabiani (viola), and Jessie Reagen (cello)—plays a major role in the only vocal track on the album, a piece very different from the others.
A new contender to easily be ranked among our “essential” albums.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, October 11th 2024
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Here on Title “China Girl” (David Bowie):
With Duran Duran, live:
Radical Imagination: Jazz Lives: A conversation with Sam Newsome and Stan Harrison: