THE HERB HARRIS JAZZ TRIO
Drummer, percussionist and tympanist Herb Harris returns to jazz after being in the world of Broadway theater, film and TV music, symphony orchestra and ethnic music. Travelling vaudeville shows and dance bands took him out into the world where he found his predilection for jazz - working in Chicago, Houston, through the South, and other places. Some of the greats Herb worked with were Roy Eldridge, Peewee Russell, Pops Foster, Art Hodes; later in New York, with Richard Davis, Joe Wilder, Ron Carter, Urbie Green, Walt Levinsky. Herb played with the New York Philharmonic for 24 years, 30 Broadway shows, hundreds of film and TV recordings (and contracted many of them), classical chamber orchestras and more. He produced albums, was Joseph Papp's music administrator for many years - altogether a busy life. And now back to his first love, jazz.
Bassist John Lamb, too, has a classical background and plays a number of instruments. Among those he's played with are Teddy Wilson, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Jimmy Heath, Monty Alexander, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He has accompanied Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, and Peggy Lee, among others. He's appeared in theaters and on TV with Jazz at the Philharmonic (Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton), Kool Jazz Festival, Ed Sullivan's Bell Telephone Hour and many variety shows. While touring with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, John has played with the symphony orchestras of Boston (Pops), New York Philharmonic, Toronto, London, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and San Francisco. You'll find John on the Duke Ellington Orchestra's major works recorded in the mid 60s, including The Far East Suite, La Plus Belle African and Sacred Concert
Pianist Richard Drexler comes to us with a wealth of background as a multi-instrumentalist, composer/arranger and producer. The range of instrumentalists he has appeared on recordings is vast. They include Dick Hyman, Jerry Dodgion, Paquito d'Rivera, Marvin Stamm, Gary Burton, Bob Mintzer, Gato Barbieri, Claudio Roditi, and Danny Gottlieb. The list goes on it seems forever. And in case you're confused, Richard is a great bassist. A few of the singers Richard has worked with are Vic Damone, Frankie Laine, Mel Torme, Connie Haines, Diahann Carroll, Tony Bennett. Richard has played theater, played on film scores and gigged with other greats. His most recent touring and recording experiences have been with the Woodie Herman Orchestra, Jeff Berlin Group, Kenny Drew Jr. Trio, the John Allred quintet and our Trio. His classical background has led to his combining classics with jazz and Latin forms in his compositions.
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