Rufus Harley - Complete Atlantic Recordings

[Stefan Wood]

I received this email last night:

Rufus Harley - Courage: The Atlantic Recordings

The late Rufus Harley didn't take “no” for an answer when it came to music. As a youngster in Philadelphia, the novice saxophonist twice retrieved his instrument from a pawn shop to which his mother had tried to consign it. But after November 25, 1963, the sax would play second fiddle in Rufus' jazz career. That was the day of John F. Kennedy's funeral procession, and leading the solemn march through the streets of the nation's capital were nine pipers from the Black Watch of The Royal Highlanders Regiment. Listening to them play, Harley dreamed up a whole new kind of music...

Jazz bagpipes. On paper, it was a pretty unlikely combination, but for anyone who gave them a fair hearing, Rufus' performances quelled all skeptics. When he won over local Philly DJ and aspiring record producer Joel Dorn, Harley earned a contract with Atlantic Records, which issued his debut in 1966. Bagpipe Blues was a success, and through the remainder of the decade, Harley and Dorn completed three more albums for the label: Scotch & Soul (1966), A Tribute To Courage (1967), and King/Queens (1970).

Though he was also a skilled sax player and flutist, Rufus was seen at the time as a novelty act -- “the world's first jazz bagpipe player.” But in hindsight his music is of a piece with the sonic boundary-breaking of such greats as Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Pharoah Sanders in the 1960s - a time of heightened interest in exotic sounds and styles from around the globe. In the years since his innovative Atlantic releases, Harley toured with his idol Sonny Rollins, and made guest appearances on recordings by the likes of Laurie Anderson and The Roots.

The Rhino Handmade collection Courage: The Atlantic Recordings gathers all four of the jazzman's albums for the label, along with a previously unreleased version of “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” from the King/Queens sessions and “Pipin' The Blues” from Sonny Stitt's 1967 LP Deuces Wild, a track which prominently features Harley's bagpipes. Featuring remastered sound, rare photos, and producer Daniel Goldmark's insightful liner notes, this ear-opening 2-CD set goes a long way toward proving Rufus' contention that “this thing about the bagpipes not being for jazz is all in the mind.”

Courage: The Atlantic Recordings is available for $39.98 as an individually numbered limited edition of 3,000 copies. Get it now at:

Rhino Handmade Rufus Harley box set

[mikeweil]

Well, I dunno ...... I had Harley's first Atlantic LP, and thought he was a nice player, and his use of the bagpipes is much more than a novelty, but he's not in the first league of players, so I doubt this could catch my attention for more than two or three turns ..... not to discourage anyone: He's really a nice player, and the rhythm section grooves. And I doubt that this music will be made available again for many years after these 3000 are sould out.

Edited November 18, 2006 by mikeweil

[JSngry]

I've gotten burns of all those Atlantic sides, and I can only say that although Harley was definitely not a "major figure", he made some good albums that very effectively held together as "presentations" of his "point of view".

No rush, but I'll probably spring for this set at some point.

[RDK]

This is something I undoubtedly would have passed on too but for the fact that I found a promo (or at least a numberless) copy at a used store for $20 and figured what the heck.

Had never heard a lick of Harley before this aside from a few tracks with Sonny, and I gotta say this is some mighty fine stuff. One could argue there's too much bagpipe and not enough of his sax and flute work, but that's also what gives Rufus his unique sound. Damn near everybody plays sax but you hear so few jazz bagpipists (?) that how can you not stop and give it a listen? Much of this reminds me of RRK's work on stritch, zither, and whateverelsefuck he played. It's jazzy, but also exotic. A few of the tunes are a bit corny (Moon River and a couple others), but overall this has the cool late 60s vibe of musicians trying something different but with one foot in the commercial arena.

Not sure I'd drop $40 on this unheard, but I'm glad I took a chance when I did...

[JSngry]

Been listening to this set today...keep liking Harley more every time I listen to his stuff, and this set...three albums of the pretty damn happening Oliver Collins/James Glenn/Billy Abner rhythm section, this time that's what really grabbed me, these guys were tight together. I know that Collins has left some trails in Philly over the years, but can't really find any leads on the other two other than Glenn with The Visitors, so what's the post-Harley story with these guys?

Bottom line, it's the sound of a tight working band, not a studio assemblage. Always something to be said for that.

[felser]

And you can get the set for under $12 shipped on Amazon Marketplace. I have it and love it. When I worked for General Accident Insurance Company in downtown Philly in 1980-1981, I went out to Independence Mall during my luch break one sunny day and saw Harley putting on a free solo concert. Fun stuff. The Atlantic recordings are really good. I don't know anything about Abner post this time. Glenn, I think, replaced Stanley Clarke in the Visitors. Glenn, who went by James Hicks Glenn, continued to play for a long time in the Philly area, often with Sid Simmons and Mickey Roker at Ortlieb's, and with Simmons and Bootsie Barnes and Byron Landham/Craig MacIver (if I remember correctly) as the house band at the Mill Creek Jazz Society up on Lancaster Avenue. The Visitors, of course, were the band with Carl and Earl Grubbs, Coltrane's nephews. Saw them at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr in the mid-70's and they were really good.

[mjzee]

Thanks for the tip...just ordered it.

[mjzee]

Listening to disc 1 now. Very nice; Harley's sax work has that Coltrane sound. Thanks to all for recommending.