Billy Harper recommendations?

[Shawn]

Okay, so I notice that I don't have much by him in my collection...thinking I need to remedy that. Where's a good place to start?

Thanks

[clifford_thornton]

His first on Black Saint isn't too scarce - same title as the label!

Also the stuff with Max Roach, of which I have a little bit. I don't know how much of that material made it to CD - vinyl albums on Horo and East Wind, I think.

Edited July 14, 2007 by clifford_thornton

[BFrank]

Take a look at THIS thread.

[ep1str0phy]

There are three I regularly return to--In Europe-/i], Trying to Make Heaven My Home, and Somalia. Without wanting to sound dismissive, there is a general "sameness" among his albums that has more to do with a unified approach than a lack of ideas. Like Trane, Billy is the sort of musician who one might attempt to summarize in a few formulae or a set of recordings, but it's really about infinite possibilities in a very realized musical framework.

On a more basic level, Billy found a really potent way of unifying many of the techniques of the energy guys with Trane modalism and soul jazz. In Europe has the most fire for me, Trying to Make Heaven My Home has the grandeur, and Somalia a fine album composition from an artist already many years into his career. Like JSngry pointed out in the thread BFrank linked to, all Harper is pretty much good Harper.