Harrison Squared - Trout in Swimwear (2020)

Harrison² (pronounced Harrison Squared) is a Toronto-based jazz quartet featuring up-and-coming instrumentalists Harry Vetro and Harrison Argatoff alongside Canadian Jazz legends Mike Murley and Steve Wallace. They are a chordless quartet; harmony is expressed through saxophones and bass defining the groups sound.

Harrison² formed in January 2016 at the University of Toronto during a lesson with Wallace and Vetro. Vetro invited his friend Argatoff in to play jazz standards part way through the lesson, and the three immediately recognized a natural musical connection. In September 2016, they landed a gig at The Rex Hotel and Murley joined on forming the Harrison² Quartet.

They continued playing around Toronto forging an exciting musical relationship. Three years later, the group recorded a self-funded album at Union Sound in Toronto. Trout in Swimwear, Harrison²’s forthcoming release, is a collection of contrafacts composed by Argatoff and Murley. Trout in Swimwear is a collaboration across generations. The album introduces Vetro and Argatoff to the Canadian jazz scene and displays Murley and Wallace’s knowledge of the jazz tradition. Their contrasting voices draw inspiration from jazz history creating a well-informed jazz album.