Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and reggae

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic guitar blues in the mid-1990s. He was featured on the 2003 PBS television

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

'' The Blues'', in an episode directed by Martin Scorsese.

Biography

Harris was born and raised near Denver, Colorado. He graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine with a bachelor's degree in 1991, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2007. Harris received a

Thomas J. Watson Fellowship The Thomas J. Watson Foundation is a charitable trust formed 1961 in honor of former chairman and CEO of IBM, Thomas J. Watson. The Foundation's stated vision is to empower students “to expand their vision, test and develop their potential, an ...

for language studies in Cameroon in his early twenties, before taking a teaching post in Napoleonville, Louisiana under the Teach For America program. His debut solo album ''Between Midnight and Day'' (1995) was produced by Grammy nominee/composer/producer Larry Hoffman, who discovered him in 1994 in Helena, Arkansas. The record included covers of Sleepy John Estes, Fred McDowell, Charlie Patton, Muddy Waters, and Bukka White. His second recording with Hoffman, '' Fish Ain't Bitin''', was the recipient of the 1997 W. C. Handy Award for ''Best Acoustic Blues Album of the Year''. Recorded in New Orleans, it featured Harris' original songs, vocal, and guitar backed on certain tracks by a trio of tuba and two trombones arranged by producer Hoffman. In 2002, Harris collaborated with

Ali Farka Toure ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 common era, CE) was the last of four Rashidun, Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was ...

on his album ''

Mississippi to Mali ''Mississippi to Mali'' is an album by Corey Harris. It was released in 2003 through Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin ...

'', fusing blues and Toure's music from northern Mali. In 2003, he contributed to the

Northern Blues The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City O ...

release '' Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash''. Harris has lived and traveled widely in West Africa, an influence that has permeated much of his work. Harris has toured extensively throughout Europe, Canada, West Africa,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He is known for his solo acoustic work as well as his electric band, formerly known as the '5 x 5', now known as The Corey Harris Band. He helped

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

and Wilco to write the music for "Hoodoo Voodoo" on '' Mermaid Avenue'', an album consisting entirely of songs for which the lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie. He also appeared as a musician and vocalist on the album and its sequels, '' Mermaid Avenue Vol. II'' and ''

Mermaid Avenue Vol. III In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

''. In September 2007, the

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

announced that Harris was among 24 people named

MacArthur Fellows The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...

for 2007. The Fellowship, worth $500,000, is payable over five years.

Discography

Solo

*1995: ''Between Midnight and Day'' ( Alligator) *1997: '' Fish Ain't Bitin''' (Alligator) *1999: '' Greens from the Garden'' (Alligator) *2000: ''Vu-Du Menz'' with Henry Butler (Alligator) *2001: ''Live at Starr Hill 1/27/01'' (Njumba) *2002: ''

Downhome Sophisticate ''Downhome Sophisticate'' is an album by the American blues musician Corey Harris, released in 2002. The album peaked at No. 4 on '' Billboards Blues Albums chart. Harris promoted the album by touring with his band, 5X5. Production The album was ...

'' ( Rounder) *2003: ''

'' (Rounder) *2005: '' Daily Bread'' (Rounder) *2007: ''Zion Crossroads'' ( Telarc) *2009: ''blu.black'' (Telarc) *2011: ''Father Sun Mother Earth'' (Njumba) *2012: ''Motherless Child (with Lutan Fyah)'' *2013: ''Fulton Blues'' *2013: ''Rasta Blues Experience Live'' *2014: ''Fulton Blues (Deluxe Edition)'' *2015: ''Live! from Turtle Island'' *2016 ''Live in Vienna'' *2018 ''Free Water Way'' *2019 ''Louisa County Blues''

Contributions to others

*1998: '' Mermaid Avenue'' *2000: '' Mermaid Avenue Vol. II'' *2003: '' Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash'' (

)Harris contributed his version of "Redemption", originally found on Cash's '' American Recordings''. *2005: ''Come to the Mountain: Old Time Music for Modern Times'' *2012: ''

'', issued as part of '' Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions''

References

External links

Official website
* Corey Harrisat Allmusic
Speech by Corey Harris
at Bates College {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Corey 1969 births Living people African-American guitarists American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Bates College alumni Musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia American slide guitarists Watson Fellows MacArthur Fellows Singers from Denver Guitarists from Colorado 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers African-American banjoists