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| MPS Records: Don "Sugarcane" Harris - re-issues (Release: November 17th, 2017) Сalled 'the Jimmy Hendrix of the violin', compared to Eric Clapton and spoken of in the same breath with the likes of Jean Luc Ponty, Don 'Sugarcane' Harris was the violin master of jazz-inflected rock 'n' roll. His association with John Mahall and Frank Zappa brought him into the limelight, but he also played and recorded with John Lee Hooker, Little Richard and the man who gave him the nickname 'Sugarcane', rhythm & blues legend Johnny Otis.L.A. guitarist Randy Resnick reminisced about Harris; "All I can say is that I never got chills in any other band like the ones I got when Don took off…it was tribal, it was primitive and it was real..." Don "Sugarcane" Harris - I'm On Your Case //1974 You can argue that all the MPS Sugarcane Harris albums are special, but this one deserves extra attention; it's recorded in LA with Sugarcane's homeboys, not least of which is keyboardist Dewey Terry, Harris' friend and playing partner from childhood on. It also includes drummer Paul Lagos and guitarist Randy Resnick, who, along with Terry were members of Harris' LA-based band. The album is replete with Sugarcane's patented mix of blues, jazz and rock, but his violin takes a back seat to his driving vocals. Line-Up: Clifton "Foo-Foo" Eddie*, Paul Lagos (Drums), Randy Resnick (Guitar), James Bradshaw (Guitar [Lead]), Dewey Terry (Harpsichord, Piano, Bass, Percussion), Richard Aplanalp (Saxophone [Tenor]), Bill Sprague (Trumpet), Dalrie "Sunshine" Vail*, Elsie Lewis (Vocals [Background], Percussion), Don "Sugarcane" Harris (Vocals [Lead], Violin [Amplified], Organ, Bass, Percussion, Producer) Don "Sugarcane" Harris - Keep On Driving //1971 Although Don "Sugarcane" Harris played and recorded with a slew of blues and rock 'n' roll greats, his recordings under his own name were surprisingly limited. Thankfully for the listener and music history, MPS had sense enough to record what turned out to be the lion's share. Keep On Driving was his Black Forest first, and what a debut! On hand are Volker Kriegel, already Germany's number one guitarist, John Taylor, the greatest English jazz keyboardist of his generation, and English drummer Tony Oxley, whose playing credentials range from Sonny Rollins to Evan Parker. All compositions are by Sugarcane, with Taylor on electric piano and Harris on Fender bass before overdubbing his violin parts. Line-Up: Don "Sugarcane" Harris (Bass Guitar, Violin), Wolfgang Baumann (Design [Graphic Work]), Tony Oxley (Drums, Percussion [Amplified]), John Taylor (Electric Piano), Volker Kriegel (Guitar) Don "Sugarcane" Harris - Keyzop //1975 Once again Don "Sugarcane" Harris teams up with his musical brother, LA keyboardist Dewey Terry, and German guitar giant Volker Kriegel returns to the band. On this album there are no overdubs as Harris concentrates on violin and hands over the bass chair to Gunther Lenz, who first made an imprint on the jazz world as member of the legendary Albert Mangelsdorff Quartet. American Todd Canedy, whose working credentials include Horace Parlan and Wolfgang Dauner, holds down the drum chair. Harris and Terry supply the compositions with a mix of jazz, funk, and blues. Line-Up: Günter Lenz (Bass), Todd Canedy (Drums), Volker Kriegel (Guitar), Dewey Terry (Piano), Don "Sugarcane" Harris (Violin) MPS Records New Digital Releases Digital Mastered for iTunes Distribution: Edel:Kultur/ Kontor New Media MPS Records Release Date: November 17th, 2017 (2 months exclusively on iTunes. Subsequently available on all common download services.) Mastered for iTunes // 24-bit-Transfer from original master tapes // produced by Dirk Sommer write your comments about the article :: © 2017 Jazz News :: home page |