Courage: The Atlantic Recordings [Box set]

Rufus Harley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Rhino Handmade
• ASIN: B000PBSPGK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,150 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Noted producer Joel Dorn discovered Harley and brought him to Atlantic Records, and to this day credits the success of the bagpiper's debut album, Bagpipe Blues, as the reason Nesuhi Ertegun invited him to become a full-time producer at the label. Dorn recorded both Bagpipe Blues and Scotch & Soul, in 1966, A Tribute To Courage in 1967, and King/Queens in 1970, before Harley parted with Atlantic. Interestingly, all the facets of the bagpipes' sound appear on these four Atlantic albums: chanter alone, drones alone, and full bore with chanter screaming and drones wailing. As Dorn remembers in the liner notes to this release, "Any time back then when you did something that was slightly different, the regular jazz community looked at it as if it was gimmicky, or vaudeville-like. People looked at it as an oddity or a one-off." John Coltrane once called Harley in the middle of the night and asked for lessons on the pipes, a set of which he'd recently acquired. Courage contains the Atlantic albums Bagpipe Blues, Scotch & Soul, A Tribute To Courage, and King/Queens in their entirety, plus the previously unreleased "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" and "Pipin' The Blues" from Sonny Stitt's Deuces Wild. Courage: The Atlantic Recordings is available as limited edition of 3,000 copies. TRACK LIST: BAGPIPE BLUES KERRY DANCERS WHO CAN I TURN TO (WHEN NOBODY NEEDS ME) MORE CHIM CHIM CHEREE SPORTIN' SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MOTHERLESS CHILD FEELING GOOD IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW TAURUS THE 20TH SCOTCH & SOUL PASSING THE CUP AROUND A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN BERKELEY SQUARE SUFUR PIPIN' THE BLUES - Sonny Stitt SUNNY A TRIBUTE TO COURAGE (JFK) SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT ALI "X" ABOUT TRANE EIGHT MILES HIGH MOON RIVER LOVE IS BLUE WINDY KING QUEENS WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Jazz music., January 1, 2011

By 

raskolnikov_records "raskolnikov" (philly) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courage: The Atlantic Recordings (Audio CD)

This is Jazz music. The man, a true diplomat of the genre who revolutionized the bagpipe. He visited public schools and distributed miniature liberty bells on foreign tours. He busked in the streets of Philadelphia so others could enjoy his unique aesthete and sound.
With respect to the music on this fine release from Rhino Handmade, I invite anyone who can get their hands on this rare, comprehensive, double disc set to listen to how he transforms an instrument you thought you knew the sound of. Amazing. At times poignant: "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" & "A Tribute to Courage (JFK)". At others times totally swinging: "Feeling Good", "Sunny", "Scotch & Soul" & "Eight Miles High".
This man was no joke. He led sessions for Atlantic. He played with Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins And Herbie Mann. He had the admiration of John Coltrane who himself bought a set of bagpipes because of Harley's sound. He stayed true to his own unique style and shared his spiritual understanding of music with anyone who would listen: "The drone uses the ancient vibrations of the universe. Bagpipes represent the ultimate sound of philosophy because it sustains. It brings the yin and the yang together, the male and female."
For another great release try "Re-Creation of the Gods" and the documentary DVD about his life: "Pipes of Peace".

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not for bagpipe prowess, February 14, 2009

By 

William B. Cornell (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Courage: The Atlantic Recordings (Audio CD)

If you're looking for some stud playing bagpipes like there's no tomorrow, this is not the place. You can find plenty of Celt/Scots or early music players' recordings for that. Harley is interesting because he had the guts to try something that was never done before, or much since, and that was to apply bagpipes to jazz. This kind of experimentation is completely lost on most music today and that's too bad. A friend who has acquaintance with some notable pipers says they ridicule Harley since his tone was slightly off, he held the pipes over the wrong shoulder, etc etc. True, but he was the first ever at what he did and you can't take that away from him. This set is more than complete...a shorter "Best Of" might be the better introduction to his work. By the way, he was not a bad sax player...as heard on some examples here.