Ed Felson's Notes:
In the jazz idiom, very few master musicians have held the title of leader while pounding out the heartbeat of any great band behind the drum set since legends Art Blakey and Max Roach. Winard Harper, however, has proven since the late ‘80s to be one of the true great bandleaders who sits behind a drum kit while pushing his ensemble to explore international sounds ranging from African to Caribbean to Afro-Cuban, all wrapped around the core of Hard Bop jazz. One just needs to go down the who’s who list of jazz legends and chances are you will find that the 44-year-old drummer held down the beat for those artists. Some on the list include: the late saxophonist colossus Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane’s disciple Pharoah Sanders, pianists Ray Bryant and Tommy Flanagan and tenor-saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman (long-time key musician in Ray Charles’ band).
Ed Felson is part owner of the Blue Wisp, musical director, and a jazz bassist.
