The few recordings of Jamaican born saxophonist
Joe Harriott have been hard to come by since they were initially released in the early '60s. One of the most famous is
Free Form, recorded in London and released in 1960. Comparable to
Ornette Coleman's recordings of the period, these eight pieces incorporate
Harriott's hard bop influence, cutting through adventurous compositions including
"Abstract," "Straight Lines," and
"Impression." When listening to
Free Form (or early
Coleman for that matter) with a 21st century perspective, it's hard to imagine that this music was often considered intolerable upon release. It's unfortunate that
Harriott and trumpeter/fluegelhornist
Shane Keane missed out on being as widely lauded as
Coleman and
Don Cherry finally became. In 1999 tenor saxophonist
Ken Vandermark attempted to spotlight that ill-fated situation by releasing a disc of
Harriott compositions, including three from
Free Form, on his 1999 release
Straight Lines. ~ Al Campbell
