Search - Billy Harper :: In Europe

The Best of the post-Coltrane Tenor men

Herbert L Calhoun | Falls Church, VA USA | 06/14/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Billy Harper, in my estimation is very much under rated. He is, in my humble opinion, the heir apparent to the John Coltrane legacy. He embodies the Coltrane spirit in the same way that Pharoh Sanders does, but Harper can also play the tenor. Additionally, as the listener will discover on this album, he is not a Coltrane mimic; he takes off where Trane left off, blazing his own independent trail. And what an interesting trail it is, indeed. I am just sorry we do not see more of him. I caught him once in DC. And then he seemed to have been trying to produce and promote himself in the same way that Sonny Rollins has done. I suppose that is why so little of him is seen. However, anyone who wants to know what the possibilities are for the post-Coltrane era, need go no further. Harper is your man.



While I like everything on this cut, my all time favorite of Harper's tunes is his "Love on the Sudan," which was produced in Japan and is difficult to find in the States. Anyone who has a copy or know where I can get one please leave me a comment with this review.



Here Harper extends the post-Coltrane idiom with a comfort and with groups with the same "tightness" that cinches him as Coltrane's heir apparent. This music and this group is "Tight" with a capital "T". It is spiritual, intense, intellectual, enjoyable and recognizable as extending an important genre.



Ten Stars"