Album Notes

Harry Smallenburg is a composer/performer/arranger/educator/writer living in the Los Angeles area, where he grew up listening to vibes players like Emil Richards, Terry Gibbs, Gary Burton, Bobby Hutcherson, Milt Jackson, and Lionel Hampton. He teaches English at Pasadena Community College and performs regularly around Southern California. His most recent CD, "Morphology," was recorded in Chicago with friends from a time when he and Alan Perlman (a linguist/writer/educator/public relations expert) taught together at Wayne State University in Detroit. The drummer, Rusty Jones, is a veteran of tours with George Shearing. Harry's previous CD, "Inadequate Adult Supervision"--all original compositions--will be available in the near future through CD Baby, as will a compilation of recent performances, "Live at the Balzac," recorded at the Balzac Cafe.

Harry's influences are many and various, ranging from the dadaists, surrealists and abstract expressionists in the visual arts, to avant-garde composers like John Cage, to writers in the absurdist/experimentalist tradition, like Samuel Beckett and James Joyce. Among his favorite books are Watt and Molloy, by Beckett, Ulysses, by Joyce, and the writings of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Octavio Paz, Pablo Neruda, and Wallace Stevens. Harry also plays trombone and drums and teaches courses in The Literature of the Bible.

"Vibes are a uniquely beautiful instrument," Harry said recently. "They can have a soft romantic side, as well as a strong, hard-driving edge. I try to exploit as many of their possibilities as I can."