The Joel Harrison Octet
For his CD debut, 3+3=7, guitarist Joel Harrison assembled an intuitive double-trio of percussionists and fellow six-stringers who blurred the divisive lines between jazz, rock, ambient, progressive, and so-called experimental forms. But that largely improvised recording divulges only half of the total vision. Harrison's latest disc, Range of Motion, documents his compositional side, which, not unlike 3+3=7, benefits from an attitude best expressed by the Duke Ellington line: "To make it perfectly clear, I don't believe in categories." This allows an unbridled intensity on occasion (what the artist calls, "3 a.m. at an Eastern European wedding"), mixed with a self-conscious sophistication (uncommon time signatures, quick-shifting tempos, meticulous harmony). But it's the collective strength of the eight-piece ensemble (which includes virtuoso horn player Paul McCandless, saxophonist Eric Crystal, pianist Dred Scott, and drummer Eliott Kavee) that gives Harrison's tunes their vitality. A few pieces ("Head Pebbles," "Traveling Blues") come off a bit slicker than others, but even the most fusion-reminiscent grooves, like the three/four funk of "Counterpunch," rise above the rigidity of similar affronts. Under Harrison's direction, the band knows precisely when and how to stick to the beat, but not be slaves to it -- like an octopod in overdrive.
-- Sam Prestianni
The Joel Harrison Octet appears on Monday, June 16, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. Tickets are $8 ($6 for Jazz in Flight members); call (510) 238-9200.
