Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joel Harrison, modern master, creates the disc of his life, November 13, 2007
He's struck it big before, but never quite this brilliantly.
Me, I'm always thrilled to see a major talent finally come completely into his own. Think Tomasz Stanko's Suspended Night or Ben Allison's Buzz. Know what I mean? Then you'll fully track with what Joel Harrison's done on Harbor.
First off, he's corralled just a stone-brilliant band: Nguyen Le, guitar; David Binney, alto sax; the great, but criminally under-regarded, Jamey Haddad, drums, percussion; and unknown monster bassist, Gildas Bocle. These men play on all but two cuts. On numbers 4 & 5 Henry Hey (piano), Stephan Crump (bass), Jordan Perlson (drums, percussion), and Satoshi Takeishi (percussion, drums) take over.
Secondly, he's written some really pretty yet challenging tunes. Listen. You don't often get both. Usually, it's either pretty and dull or challenging and prickly. Not here. This is music you'll constantly come back to both by virtue of its formal brilliance and its uncanny beauty.
Third, this band totally gets it. They follow his every move, often laying down a totally happening vibe completely consonant with his compositional thrust, but subtly augmenting the proceedings with sly accents totally unexpected yet brilliantly apposite.
One of the big surprises of 2007. Don't miss it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprise to me, September 3, 2007
I got this CD based on nothing more than the vauge memory of a positive review and David Binney's name. This was a very pleasant surprise. 6 of 8 songs have the additional guitar of Nguyên Lê. Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with either player to tell who's playing what (they're seperated by channel, but it's hard for me to pick up the way my stereo's set up). They both have a fusion edge to them - some guitar tones are distorted. I really like the guitar playing, they're not afraid to say something. The compositions are also very strong, there are a lot of good melodies, and there are a lot of songs that get into free or very modern-sounding sections. The CD starts off with "You Bring The Rain", which has a plaintive melody and gets into some intense playing. "Blue Ghosts" is more melancholy, and "End Time" shows a David Binney influence. "The Refugee" and "Hudson Shining" have a slightly different lineup without Nguyên Lê and a different rhythm section adding piano and percussion. "The Refugee" is basically a long build. "Harbor" is a nice ballad. "American Bablyon" is the darkest, and the coolest song. There is a neat middle section with either guitar sounds or sound effects added later - it amplifies the mood. This is an excellent CD, though surely Joel Harrison's friends and fammily weren't surprised by that.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Get This Now, June 18, 2008
Composer/guitarist Joel Harrison who's originally from the Bay Area has been composing some of the most interesting jazz since arrival to New York City in the late 90s.
"Harbor" represents everything great about his compositional style and his choice of sidemen. Harbor unites the following musicians:
Joel Harrison - guitar/composer
Nguyên Lê - guitar
Dave Binney - sax
Gildas Bocle - bass
Jamey Haddad - drums/perc.
also:
Henry Hey: piano (4,5)
Stephan Crump: bass (4,5)
Jordan Perlson: drums (4), perc. (5)
Satoshi Takeishi: drums (5), perc. (4)
Marty Wehner: trombone (2)
Great peformances from Nguyen Le and David Binney who are both outstanding composers and leaders in their own right. The whole ensemble is fantastic though.
The music is pretty hard to describe at turns it is very textural, ambient, and at other times it can be intense and really progress into great climaxes. There's not a bad song here really. I will say the only weak track is "End Time," but it even has some great moments. This music will no doubt move you in some way.
If you're unfamiliar with Harrison's work, then "Harbor" is a great place to start.
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~ Joel Octet Harrison
~ Joel Harrison
~ David Binney
~ Jerome Sabbagh
~ Jeff Gauthier
by Joel Harrison 
