Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-known compositions are "Freedom Jazz Dance", popularized by Miles Davis in 1966, and "Listen Here".

Biography

Harris was born and grew up in Chicago. His father was from Cuba and his mother from Mississippi. He studied music under Walter Dyett at DuSable High School, as had many other successful Chicago musicians (including Nat King Cole, Clifford Jordan, Johnny Griffin, Gene Ammons, Julian Priester, and others). He later studied music at Roosevelt University; by that time he was proficient on piano, vibraphone, and tenor saxophone. While in college he performed professionally with Gene Ammons.

After college, Harris was drafted into the United States Army and while serving in Europe, he was accepted into the 7th Army Band which also included Don Ellis, Leo Wright, and Cedar Walton.

Leaving military service, Harris worked in New York City before returning to Chicago where he signed a contract with Vee Jay Records. His first album for Vee Jay, Exodus to Jazz, included his own jazz arrangement of Ernest Gold's theme from the movie Exodus. A shortened version of the track, which featured his playing in the upper register of the tenor saxophone, was heavily played on radio and became the first jazz record ever to be certified gold.

The single, "Exodus", climbed into the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 16 in the U.S. R&B chart.

Harris also came up with the idea of the reed trumpet, playing one for the first time at the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival. After recording for Atlantic for over 12 years, Harris left the record company after completing his final album for the label in 1977. He then signed with RCA Records and recorded two albums.

Harris died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles on November 5, 1996, at the age of 62.

  • 1996: All The Way Live (Milestone) with Jimmy Smith; recorded 1981
  • 1997: The Last Concert (ACT)
  • 2005: Exodus: The Best of the Vee-Jay Years (Charly)
  • 2017: Live: Las Vegas 1985 (Hi-Hat)

As sideman

With Buddy Montgomery

  • Ties of Love (Landmark, 1987)

With Bernard Purdie

  • Bernard Purdie's Soul to Jazz (ACT, 1996)

With Cedar Walton

  • Beyond Mobius (RCA, 1976)

With Ellis Marsalis, Jr.

  • Homecoming (Spindletop, 1985)

With Horace Parlan

  • Glad I Found You (Steeplechase, 1986)

With Horace Silver

  • Spiritualizing the Senses (Silveto, 1983)
  • There's No Need to Struggle (Silveto, 1983)

With John Scofield

  • Hand Jive (Blue Note, 1994)

References

  • Eddie Harris Illustrated Discography