African Tarantella

Stefon Harris | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 22, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note
• ASIN: B000HKDEAQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,498 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Since establishing himself as the most exciting vibraphonist of his generation, Stefon Harris has strived to establish himself as an exciting conceptualist as well. He overextended himself with his 70-minute Grand Unification Theory (2003), written for a 12-member ensemble, but creates something warmly cohesive in reworking selections from Duke Ellington's "New Orleans Suite" (1970) and "Queen's Suite" (1959) and crowning them with excerpts from his own Ellington-minded "Gardner Meditations." There is no lack of Dukish flavor here--not with trombonist Steve Turre's muted growls, clarinetist Greg Tardy's emulations of the great Jimmy Hamilton and bassist Derrick Hodge's percussive nod to the early Ellington bassist memorialized on Duke's "Portrait of Wellman Braud." But Harris is after more of a classical feel with his use of cello, viola and flute. The atmosphere can get a bit too rarified for Ellington, but this 12-person cast gets his bluesy, shifting overtones right and the interplay between the leader and pianist Xavier Davis energizes the sound--especially on the hypnotic "Sunset and the Mockingbird" from the 1959 suite. Harris' lovely, shimmering "African Tarentella" makes you want to hear the rest of "The Gardner Meditations," a commissioned work written while he was in residence at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in its entirety. --Lloyd Sachs

Product Description

African Tarantella by Stefon Harris

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Young star continues to rise, January 14, 2007

By 

James Lamperetta (Upstate, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: African Tarantella (Audio CD)

Even though the vibraphone and marimba are established "jazz" instruments there have been relatively few high profile players associated with them. The short list would include Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Gary Burton, Roy Ayers, Steve Nelson, and Bobby Hutcherson.
With six Blue Note albums as a leader to his credit, Albany native Stefon Harris is one of a handful of young vibe players exploring the potential of the instrument while building upon its often underappreciated legacy.
With his most recent release, "African Tarantella....Dances with Duke" Harris re-envisions movements from two suites composed by Duke Ellington. Also included is a disc-closing trio of original compositions from his recently commissioned work entitled "The Gardner Meditations."
With his own compositions in place first, Harris embarked upon selecting the material that would round out the disc. "I picked the Ellington compositions I thought would best align with my overall concept," he notes. "In arranging the Ellington pieces I tried not to stray to far from his intentions; I wanted to make sure that I was juxtaposing my compositional sound with that of Duke's."
Opting for a chamber jazz ensemble, the group is rounded out with piano, bass, drums, clarinet, trombone, flute, viola, and cello, instead of a more traditional big band in an Ellington mold. Thus, much of the stamp that Harris places on selections from Duke's "The New Orleans Suite" and "The Queen's Suite" is to be heard through his use of the group's instrumentation.
Ellington's music is a seemingly effortless amalgam of styles which range from jazz to classical into which he also frequently incorporated touches of blues, gospel, and world music. Tempered with a singularity of vision and style, his canon of more than 3000 compositions staked a claim all its own, no small feat during a time which the great American songbook was being crafted.
"The New Orleans Suite" was recorded by Duke in 1970 and is considered to be one of his late-period masterpieces. Taken as a whole, "Thanks for the Beautiful Land on the Delta," "Portrait of Wellman Braud" and "Bourbon Street Jingling Jollies" could be seen as a microcosm of the Ellington oeuvre. Providing ample inspiration, "Portrait" is emboldened by trombonist Steve Turre's bluesy smears, while "Bourbon Street" features a plaintive theme whose airy gait elegantly glides over a backdrop of flute and strings.
More impressive still is the way that Harris' original tunes, which are broad in scope yet succinctly sculpted, hold their own as they follow the works of a true master. The gentle "Memoirs of a Frozen Summer" is cloaked in a film-noir mystique. "African Tarantella" lopes along on a wave of mellifluous swing while "Dancing Enigma" traverses a variety of colors and moods.
A short un-credited bonus ninth track lurks ninety-seconds after the disc "ends."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another solid release, January 9, 2007

By 

Darryl Dickson-Carr (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: African Tarantella (Audio CD)

Stefon Harris's _African Tarantella_ is a good, solid release by the vibist. It's not as accessible as _Evolution_ or as virtuosic as Grand Unification Theory, but it is one of the best interpretations of Duke Ellington's work in recent years. A must-buy for his fans, and a safe buy for all others.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stefon Harris Does It Again, January 9, 2007

By 

The Movie Man "tenebre89" (Maywood, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: African Tarantella (Audio CD)

I've been a fan of Stefon Harris since seeing him on a "Saturday Night Live" broadcast as a guest soloist of the show's house band. This latest album is a smoothly melodic collection of beautiful selections. It's on the CD player a lot, and it has inspired enthusiastic comments from guests. This is jazz at its best.