Joel Harrison's music has been termed anything from intellectual to goofy, eclectic, down-home, or futuristic, incorporating the diverse elements available to his post-baby boomer generation. For
Urban Myths, electric guitarist
Harrison is inspired by
Herbie Hancock's
Mwandishi and
Headhunters groups of the 1970s, mixing up their tones and textures while adding in violin-inspired artists like
the Mahavishnu Orchestra and
Frank Zappa via rising star
Christian Howes. Young trumpeter
Ambrose Akinmusire, saxophonist
Jerome Sabbagh, and trombonist
Corey King play on selected tracks, as does electric bass guitarist
Fima Ephron.
Harrison, the extraordinary rhythm team of bassist
Stephan Crump and drummer
Jordan Person, newcomer keyboardist
Daniel Kelly, and the guitar player's longtime running mate
David Binney on alto sax continue to weave new patterns of color and sound from a drier, off-minor, nearly soured viewpoint. While
Harrison has over time been tapping on country, R&B, and blues sources much more than mainstream jazz, the music remains organically inclined, atmospheric without meditational devices, and naturally charged with high voltage. These original compositions bear an arresting sound due to the variant color combinations of the instruments. The sad epilogue tune
"Last Waltz for Queva" is a country blues subtly imbued by
Sabbagh's tenor and
King's trombone;
Howes and
Binney combine on the side for the heavy plodding funk of
"125 and Lenox"; while all the horns join in acidified or spiky lines as
Harrison's chopped-up guitar stabs punctuate a refreshingly funky take of
Thelonious Monk's
"Straight, No Chaser," a variation in every sense.
"You Must Go Through a Winter" is alternately soaring then funky coming from
Howes and the rhythm section, respectively;
Binney's vocal-styled leanings on his horn come through from the outset on the lighter funk-rocker
"Between the Traveler and the Setting Sun"; while hot and heavy rock & roll with punk underpinnings identifies
"High Expectation Low Return," a piece
Harrison describes as the band drilling a hole into your speakers, referencing a turn-off factor that the group ultimately loves to pound on and press ahead with. The selections inspired by
Hancock's former point of view include the stunning
"Mood Rodeo," with its dour deeper funk accentuated by
Harrison's blithe solo, and the title track, going hard-edged with beats as
Howes and
Binney turn skittish and altogether frenetic.
Harrison's trademark sound -- if indeed he has one -- is nigh impossible to pin down, but for sure has an allure and purposeful intent strong enough to brand him an original, even a maverick. This intensely intriguing music needs to be heard more by the progressive music public at large, making
Urban Myths an essential listen for 2009 and beyond. ~ Michael G. Nastos
