Harrison on Harrison

• Joel Harrison - voice, guitar
• Dave Binney - alto saxophone
• Dave Ambrosio – bass
• Sean Carpio – drums

“Filled with surprising, but utterly convincing, shifts of musical emphasis. Harrison is on to something both innovative and compelling.” - LA Times

“This is the music of the future.” - The Irish Times

8pm Thurs 6th April Whelans Wexford St D2 adm €

Joel Harrison's latest project is an empathic journey into the music of his namesake George Harrison, reinventing the songs of the Beatle’s most unassuming contributor with stunning textural, harmonic, and rhythmic shifts. It’s an apt return since his last Dublin visit in November 04 with Free Country, a unique alchemy of American music in all its guises, from Miles Davis to Johnny Cash. His is a singular vision that embraces Nashville standards, spirituals, country blues, worksongs and Appalachian folk tunes from an adventurous jazz perspective, and the net result is wildly imaginative music.

Here he applies a similar credo to songs from the Harrison canon like All Things Must Pass, My Sweet Lord and Here Comes The Sun, and his companions on this road less travelled are from the A list of New York's free spirited jazz community. Saxophonist Dave Binney, whose name is a leitmotif for all that's creative in US jazz today, makes a welcome return to Dublin, joined by bassist Dave Ambrosio, whose diverse resume includes pianist Kenny Werner and the legendary vibraphone\clarinet duo of Terry Gibbs and Buddy DeFranco. This stellar US trio are augmented by Irish drummer Sean Carpio, growing in stature with every performance.

Harrison’s own emotive voice comes to the fore on this Highnote project, which follows up his acclaimed Free Country and So Long 2nd Street releases for influential German label ACT. It’s also a deep exploration of the beauty and simplicity of these iconic songs, evidence of the ability music to renew itself from disparate sources, and sure to sate the appetite of ardent Beatles and jazz fans alike.