Bill Harris - The Blues-Soul of Bill Harris. Complete Mercury Recordings 1956-1959. "Bill Harris," "The Harris Touch" And "Great Guitar Sounds" Plus "Caught in the Act" (2013)

Tracklist

CD1
01. Stompin' at the Savoy
02. Moonglow
03. Cherokee
04. Out of Nowhere
05. Ethyl
06. Possessed
07. Perdido
08. I Can't Get Started
09. Dreaming
10. K. C. Shuffle
11. Ivanhoe
12. Lover
13. Spring
14. Baker's Dozen
15. Golden Sunset
16. Honeysuckle Rose
17. Midnight Blue
18. Yesterdays
19. The Harris Touch
20. All the Things You Are
21. 'S Wonderful
22. Sometimes I'm Happy
23. Rock Bottom Blues
24. The Man I Love

CD2
01. Lullaby of Birdland
02. Blue Angel
03. The Song Is You
04. Daahoud
05. Ethyl
06. Wind Song
07. Ol' Man River
08. Once in a While
09. Poinciana (Song of the Tree)
10. Concerto for Jazz Guitar (Your Majesty)
11. Jordu
12. Lover
13. All the Things You Are
14. Poinciana (Song of the Tree) (Alt Take)
15. Well You Needn't
16. "Intaglio Monk," Parts 1 & 2
17. Stompin' at the Savoy
18. Possessed
19. Cherokee
20. The Song Is You
21. Where Is Big Joe Williams Blues
22. Ethyl


When Bill Harris recorded his first album as a leader in 1956, he had already been the electric guitar accompanist for The Clovers one of the most outstanding r&b vocal groups since 1949. Fellow guitarist Mickey Baker recommended him to Mercury/EmArcy s a&r head, Bob Shad, and it is to Shad s credit that he gave Harris so much scope on his debut. The full colored natural sound of Harris s unamplified Spanish guitar is a rare and interesting pleasure. In the words of Nat Hentoff, the blues-soul of Harris courses richly through everything he plays.
On his second album for the label, The Harris Touch, Bill was backed by a conventional rhythm section and a bongo player. The session featured the excellent piano work of Hank Jones, with three of the tunes vehicles to showcase of Harris s electric guitar. On the Mercury/Wing album, Harris again performs solo, displaying his remarkable feeling for the unamplified guitar in both jazz and semi-classical contexts. The fourth album on this set is also a solo recital, recorded during a Bill Harris concert in Washington in 1962. Harris plays with engaging easiness in a live program which mainly includes material from the other three albums, demonstrating his abilities as an improviser of lovely, rhythmically resilient variations.
Down Beat magazine defined his style as a combination of beauty, lyricism, charm and solid strength. This collection of performances is both a masterpiece of guitar versatility and a master class in improvisation.

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