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A highly gifted jazz soloist,
Tom Harrell is generally considered one of the top trumpeters of his generation, known for a sophisticated harmonic approach that combines the power of
Clifford Brown with the lyricism of
Chet Baker and
Art Farmer. Following his emergence in the early '70s with
Horace Silver, he came into his own in the '80s and '90s, playing with
Phil Woods and issuing a steady stream of acoustic post-bop albums like 1988's
Stories and 1999's
Time's Mirror; the latter earned a Grammy nomination for Best Large Ensemble Jazz Performance.
Harrell has continued to further hone his sophisticated style, often working with younger musicians and releasing quintet dates like 2007's
Light On, as well as more pared-down sessions like 2013's piano-less
Colors of a Dream with bassist
Esperanza Spalding. As evidence of his generous, open-minded approach, he even paired with fellow trumpeter
Ambrose Akinmusire on 2016's
Something Gold, Something Blue.
Born in Urbana, Illinois in 1946,
Harrell grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he first started playing trumpet around age eight. By his teens, he was gigging locally and eventually graduated from Stanford University with a music composition degree. After college, he joined the
Stan Kenton Orchestra, touring with the ensemble until 1969. He then spent time in
Woody Herman's big band before joining pianist
Horace Silver's quintet. He made his recorded debut with
Silver, appearing on a handful of albums throughout the mid- to late '70s.
Also during this period, he moved to New York, where he found work playing and/or recording with such luminaries as
Cecil Payne,
Bill Evans,
Lee Konitz, and many others. He also made his debut as a leader, releasing Aurora in 1976, followed by Mind's Ear in 1978. During the '80s,
Harrell's profile rose even further as he joined
the Phil Woods Quintet, with whom he toured and recorded for much of the decade. He also continued to grow as a solo artist, releasing a steady flow of increasingly well-regarded albums, including 1984's Play of Light, 1985's
Moon Alley, 1987's Open Air, and 1989's Lonely Eyes.
The '90s were also a fruitful period for the trumpeter, as he appeared on albums with
Joe Lovano,
Steve Swallow,
Charlie Haden, and others. He also delivered several more well-received albums for smaller labels, including 1990's
Form on Contemporary and 1991's
Passages on Chesky, before landing at RCA for 1996's
Labyrinth, the latter of which found him joined by tenor saxophonist
Don Braden, pianist
Kenny Werner, and others in quintet, nonet, and tentet settings. Subsequent RCA outings showcased more experimentation, as
Harrell explored Brazilian sounds on 1998's
Art of Rhythm, displayed his knack for big-band arranging on 1999's
Time's Mirror (for which he received a Grammy nomination), and framed himself with strings on 2001's
Paradise.
A concert album,
Live at the Village Vanguard, followed on Bluebird in 2002, and featured
Harrell's quintet with saxophonist
Jimmy Greene, bassist
Ugonna Okegwo, pianist
Xavier Davis, and drummer
Quincy Davis. He then delivered a studio effort for Bluebird, 2003's
Wise Children, which found him working with a well-curated cadre of vocalists including
Dianne Reeves,
Jane Monheit,
Claudia Acuña, and
Cassandra Wilson.
In 2007,
Harrell moved to HighNote and released
Light On, which featured his quintet with tenor saxophonist
Wayne Escoffery, pianist
Danny Grissett, bassist
Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer
Johnathan Blake. Since then, he has largely stuck with the same ensemble, delivering a highly regarded run of albums for HighNote including the atmospheric 2009 release
Prana Dance, 2010's
Roman Nights, and the similarly expansive
The Time of the Sun. The aptly titled
Number Five followed in 2012.
In 2013,
Harrell assembled a piano-less ensemble featuring bassist
Esperanza Spalding for
Colors of a Dream. He then shifted this group again, forming a quartet with saxophonist
Mark Turner for 2014's
Trip. A year later, he explored reworkings of classical compositions by
Debussy,
Ravel, and others on the orchestral-tinged
First Impressions, followed by
Something Gold, Something Blue with trumpeter
Ambrose Akinmusire in 2016. In 2017,
Harrell delivered the quartet date
Moving Picture, featuring pianist
Grissett, bassist
Okegwo, and drummer
Adam Cruz. The quintet session Infinity arrived in 2019. ~ Matt Collar