The Greg Harris Vibe Quintet is equally adept at long, dreamy, ruminative pieces and more aggressive, driving numbers. As the name of the group suggests, Harris’ vibes are the focus of the music on Open Space—whether they take the lead or simply frame and define the space around the other players.
For example, bassist Rob Fahie fashions a series of fine, throaty statements on his composition “Lucid Dream,” on top of which Harris plays rolling and sparkling accompaniment. The effect is like nothing so much as the stars twinkling around the somber night sky. Fahie and Harris further conspire to conjure the slinking melody of “Long Corridors.” With a sheepish melodica from Harris, cautious guitar work from Matt Fuller, and skeletal, muted trumpet lines from Erinn Bone, the piece is like an extended tiptoe down the corridors of the title.
“Flank Fuzz” is the extroverted opposite of the two aforementioned titles. Drummer Bill Larson lays down a straightahead groove and the band piles on. Fuller plays some effective muted gasps that contribute markedly to the forward momentum of the piece. Harris emphasizes the speedy, gliding aspect of his instrument and foregoes the dreamy crystalline accents he brings to the more pensive performances.
The Greg Harris Vibe Quintet is a finely integrated band that does an admirable job exploring often winding and intriguing compositions. The results on Open Space are unfailingly lush and rich.
by Stephen Latessa
Reprinted with permission. Copyright (c) [2006] AllAboutJazz.com and [Stephen Latessa]. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=20855
Here's another review of our album "Open Space" in the Westword
Denver, CO June 1st 2006 issue
by Michael Roberts
Vibraphonist Greg Harris is best known around here for his membership in Pete Wernick's Flexigrass, a quirky, innovative ensemble that blends jazz and bluegrass. Open Space, for its part, focuses on the former -- and while its musical blend is mellower and more conventional than the Live Five's, the results are just as noteworthy.
Harris is an egalitarian bandleader, providing plenty of opportunity for his fellows to shine. Indeed, trumpeter/flugelhornist Erinn Bone may get more spotlight time than the man whose name is above the title; that's certainly the case on "Reach," a Bone composition. Likewise, guitarist Matt Fuller steps forward throughout tunes he penned, including "Open Space Park." Yet the grooves are every bit as enjoyable as the solos on cuts such as "Flank Fuzz," during which Harris, bassist Rob Fahie and drummer Bill Larson create a backdrop every bit as intricate and intriguing as what's in the foreground.
Open Space overflows with good vibes, in more ways than one.
http://www.westword.com/Issues/2006-06-01/music/locals2.html
From Boulder to Ghana and back
By ERIN WIGGINS For the Colorado DailyMonday, April 17, 2006
When Greg Harris says his experience studying abroad at CU changed his life, he really means it. The local multi-faceted musician - first and foremost a vibraphonist - went over to Ghana while studying his master's a few years ago, and he brought back to Boulder a musical panache and enthusiasm for tradition most listeners are unlikely to forget.
“Growing up in the suburbs, there's not a lot of diverse culture,” reflects Harris, a native of Littleton, Colo. “When I went over (to Ghana), you'd just be walking down the street and feel the centuries old traditions in everything. I got to see a lot of hard lives being lived.”
Harris, who turns 30 this month, has recently released an album, “World Citizen” with master xylophonist Aaron Bebe. He says the experience changed both his world perspective and rhythmic style as a percussionist.“I was the only obrunni (white boy) walking around over there,” he laughs. “I would go out late night to these small Muslim towns and take a xylophone lesson from a xylophone master guy. I stood out like a sore thumb but they were so inviting.”
The Ghana connection is only one of many musical outlets keeping Harris busy. The local musician performs live five to six nights a week with several different bands, teaches music to young adults, elderly and mentally challenged people, and still has time to create his personal free expression, in the form of Greg Harris Vibe Quintet.
In addition to the Vibe Quintet, Harris also plays with local hip-hop/jazz/soul group Future Jazz Project and local bluegrasser Pete Wernick & Flexigrass.
The unsigned musician has actually released four independent discs, including “World Citizen,” Greg Harris Vibe Quintet's “Open Space,” and a concept-based electronica album, “Prospector,” with Denver trumpeter Ron Miles and Russian producer Oleg Slepak. Those three ambitious percussion endeavors, all ranging in style in ambience, were aided by a grant from the CU Entrepreneurship Center.
“My grandfather was an accordion player, and my mom was a whistler. I started playing guitar a lot; guitar was my main instrument for years and years,” Harris explains. But while an undergraduate at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Harris met his first real mentor/teacher, percussionist John Pennington. “I basically walked into the band room (one day) and I was leaning on the timpani drums, and John Pennington comes in and was like, ‘please get off the timpani drums,'” Harris recalls, laughing. “But that's how it all started. And then I delved into the whole percussion world.”
After the trip to Ghana - ethnic musicologist and CU professor Kwasi Ampene took the graduate student along as an assistant - Harris focused on West African and Caribbean music. Master xylophonist Bebe even traveled from Ghana to play with Harris in the U.S., and Harris has also toured Ireland.
Harris's respectable level of success just came from putting himself out there. In addition to his inundation of local gigs, he has also just inked a deal to distribute on iTunes.
In terms of live music, Harris says that an improvisational setting is ideal for the Greg Harris Vibe Quintet. The current band also includes Erinn Bone on trumpet, Matt Fuller on guitar, J.C. Thompson on bass and Bill Larson on drums.
“We really thrive as a live band,” says Harris, who offers that audiences who come to see Sunday's show can expect anything from sorrowful instrumental pieces on the hurricanes and New Orleans, to fun, upbeat party beats, to some tunes influenced by old time blues.
The band, former regulars at the old Player's Club on Thursday nights, is excited to play the Dairy's East Theatre and promises a night full of extemporization.“This is our return to Boulder,” Harris says. “We kind of got down in the Denver thing, so we're kind of trying to reach back to where we came from.” The group follows up May 19 at renowned Denver jazz club Dazzle for a live recording. What exactly should one expect to experience or do while listening to Greg Harris's melodies?
“I would say like a creative time in your life. Creative moments. Or just really superficial, just cleaning your house, throwing a Frisbee, or painting or dancing,” he says, adding: “I'd say that people might be interested because they might never have heard a vibraphone in an exploratory setting.”
posted by Greg Tanner Harris at
8:09 PM
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