Craig S. Harris (born September 10, 1953) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trombonist, who started working with Sun Ra in 1976. He also has worked with Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Lester Bowie,

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

, Sam Rivers, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Charlie Haden. He has recorded since 1983 as leader for

India Navigation India Navigation was an American record company and independent record label that specialized in avant-garde jazz in the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded by Bob Cummins, a corporate lawyer who helped jazz musicians with legal matters. Its catalogu ...

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

and JMT. For the latter he recorded with two groups. The Tailgater's Tales was a quintet with clarinetist Don Byron, trumpeter Eddie Allen, Anthony Cox on double bass, and Pheeroan akLaff on drums. His large ensemble Cold Sweat was a tribute to the music of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. He is a graduate of the music program of

State University of New York at Old Westbury The State University of New York College at Old Westbury (SUNY at Old Westbury) is a public college in Old Westbury, New York, with portions in the neighboring town of Jericho, New York. It enrolls just over 5,000 students. History The State Uni ...

, and was influenced by its founder and director

Makanda Ken McIntyre Makanda Ken McIntyre (born Kenneth Arthur McIntyre; also known as Ken McIntyre) (September 7, 1931 – June 13, 2001) was an American jazz musician, composer and educator. In addition to his primary instrument, the alto saxophone, he played flu ...

. Harris's move to New York City in 1978 established him with trombonists Ray Anderson,

Joseph Bowie Joseph Bowie (born October 17, 1953) is an American jazz trombonist and vocalist. The brother of trumpeter Lester Bowie, Joseph is known for leading the jazz-punk group Defunkt and for membership in the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. Career Bowi ...

, and

George E. Lewis George Emanuel Lewis (born July 14, 1952) is an American composer, performer, and scholar of experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) since 1971, when he joined the organization ...

.Craig Harris Bio
He first played alongside another of his teachers at SUNY, baritone saxophonist Pat Patrick, in Sun Ra's Arkestra for two years. Harris than embarked on a world tour with South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) in 1979. While on tour in Australia, Harris discovered the indigenous Australian wind instrument the

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

, which he added to the collection of instruments he plays.

Discography

As leader

* ''Aboriginal Affairs'' (India Navigation, 1983) * ''

Black Bone ''Black Bone'' is an album by American jazz trombonist and composer Craig Harris recorded in 1983 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.

'' (Soul Note, 1984) * ''Tributes'' (OTC, 1985) * '' Shelter'' (JMT, 1987) * ''

Blackout in the Square Root of Soul ''Blackout in the Square Root of Soul'' is an album by trombonist Craig Harris and Tailgater's Tales which was recorded in 1987 and released on the JMT label.Shimada, T.JMT label discography accessed October 3, 2014 Reception The AllMusic review ...

'' (JMT, 1988) * ''

Cold Sweat Plays J. B. ''Cold Sweat Plays J. B.'' is an album by trombonist Craig Harris' tribute band Cold Sweat performing compositions by James Brown which was recorded in 1988 and released on the JMT label.

'' (JMT, 1989) * '' 4 Play'' (JMT, 1990) * ''

F-Stops ''F-Stops'' is an album by American jazz trombonist and composer Craig Harris recorded in 1993 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.

'' (Soul Note, 1994) * ''Istanbul'' (Doublemoon, 1998) * ''Souls Within the Veil'' (Aquastra Music, 2005)

As sideman

With Muhal Richard Abrams * '' Blues Forever'' (Black Saint, 1982) * ''

Rejoicing with the Light ''Rejoicing with the Light'' is an album by Muhal Richard Abrams. It was released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1983 and features performances of five of Abrams' compositions by a fourteen-member orchestra. Reception The AllMusic review by ...

'' (Black Saint, 1983) * ''

Song for All ''Song for All'' is an album by Muhal Richard Abrams which was released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1997 and features performances of eight of Abrams' compositions by Abrams, Eddie Allen, Craig Harris, Eugene Ghee, Alfred Patterson, Br ...

'' (Black Saint, 1997) With David Murray * ''

Murray's Steps ''Murray's Steps'' is an album by David Murray released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1982. It feature his Octet consisting of Murray, Henry Threadgill, Bobby Bradford, Lawrence "Butch" Morris, Craig Harris, Curtis Clark, Wilber Morris and ...

'' (Black Saint, 1983) * '' Live at Sweet Basil Volume 1'' (Black Saint, 1985) * ''

Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2 ''Live at Sweet Basil Volume 2'' is an album by David Murray released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1984 and the second to feature his Big Band.

'' (Black Saint, 1985) * '' New Life'' (Black Saint, 1987) * ''

David Murray Big Band ''David Murray Big Band conducted by Lawrence "Butch" Morris'' is an album by David Murray (saxophonist), David Murray released on the DIW Records, DIW/Columbia Records label in 1991. It features performances by Murray, Hugh Ragin, Graham Haynes, ...

'' (DIW, 1991) * ''

Hope Scope ''Hope Scope'' is an album by David Murray's Octet recorded in 1987 and be released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1991.Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

'' (DIW, 1993) * '' South of the Border'' (DIW, 1995) * '' Dark Star: The Music of the Grateful Dead'' (Astor Place, 1996) * ''

Fo Deuk Revue ''Fo Deuk Revue'' is an album by David Murray released on the Canadian Justin Time label. Recorded in 1996 and released in 1997, the album features performances by Murray with Darryl Burgee, Ousseynou Diop, Assane Diop, Craig Harris, Robert Irvi ...

'' (Enja, 1997) * ''

Octet Plays Trane ''Octet Plays Trane'' is an album by the David Murray Octet, released in 2000 on Justin Time. The musicians include Murray, Rasul Siddik, Hugh Ragin, Craig Harris, James Spaulding, Ravi Best, D. D. Jackson, Mark Johnson and Jaribu Shahid. The ...

'' (Justin Time, 2000) * ''

Yonn-Dé ''Yonn-Dé'' is an album by David Murray released on the Canadian Justin Time label. Recorded in 2001 and released in 2003 the album features performances by Murray and the Gwo-Ka Masters.Now Is Another Time ''Now Is Another Time'' is an album by saxophonist David Murray's Latin Big Band released on the Canadian Justin Time label. Reception The Allmusic review by Glenn Astarita awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Murray is in top form, evidenced ...

'' (Justin Time, 2003) * '' Perfection'' with Geri Allen and Terri Lyne Carrington (Motema, 2016) * ''Blues for Memo'' (Motema, 2018) With Sun Ra * ''

Live at Montreux Live at Montreux is the name of live concert releases from Montreux Sounds and Eagle Vision, on CD and/or DVD, by various musicians, usually referring to recordings at the Montreux Jazz Festival: * James Brown: ''Live at Montreux 1981, Sex Machine'' ...

'' (Saturn Research, 1976) * '' Cosmos'' (Cobra, 1976) * ''

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

'' (Horo, 1978) * ''Sleeping Beauty'' (El Saturn, 1979) * ''

Strange Celestial Road ''Strange Celestial Road'' is an album by jazz composer, bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra and his Arkestra, recorded in New York in 1979 and originally released on the Rounder label.

'' (Rounder, 1980) * ''A Quiet Place in the Universe'' (Leo, 1994) With others *

Ahmed Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (born Leroy Bland; May 10, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter who was a prominent member of Sun Ra's band. Biography He began playing the trumpet at age 13 in his native New York City. One of the first groups he performed with wa ...

, ''

Traveling the Spaceways ''Traveling the Spaceways'' is an album by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah. A tribute to his former employer, Sun Ra, it was recorded on February 27, 2004, at Clinton Studios in New York City, and was released later that year by Planet Arts Records. On t ...

'' (Planet Arts, 2004) *

Ayibobo Ayibobo is a band from New York City, United States of America, United States that is Jean-Paul Bourelly's side project. ''Ayibobo'' is one spelling of a Haitian Creole word that means "amen". MusicHound described the band as combining "Haitian s ...

, ''Freestyle'' (DIW, 1993) *

Billy Bang Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer. Biography Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...

, ''Hip Hop Be Bop'' (ITM, 1993) * Lester Bowie, '' I Only Have Eyes for You'' (ECM, 1985) *

Dollar Brand Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

, ''African Marketplace'' (Elektra, 1980) * Dollar Brand, ''At Montreux'' (Enja, 1980) * Don Byron, ''

Bug Music Bug Music was an influential independent music publisher in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 1975 by Dan Bourgoise to represent the catalogue of musician Del Shannon. Their clients included Johnny Cash and Rosanne Cash, Los L ...

'' (Nonesuch, 1996) *

Carla Cook Carla Cook is a Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist. Biography Cook was drawn to a life of music at an early age. As a student at Cass Technical High School she played string bass in the school orchestra, studied piano and voice on weekends, and s ...

, ''Dem Bones'' (Maxjazz, 2001) * Paulinho da Costa, '' Sunrise'' (Victor, 1984) * Joseph Daley, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' (Jaro, 2010) *

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

, '' Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music'' (Qwest, 1981) * Joseph Jarman, ''

Earth Passage - Density Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

'' (Black Saint, 1981) *

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

, ''

The Roots Come Alive ''The Roots Come Alive'' is a live album from the group The Roots. It was recorded in Zurich, Switzerland; New York City; and other places and released November 2, 1999. An enhanced double-CD edition containing six extra tracks, music videos ...

'' (MCA, 1999) *

Sekou Sundiata Sekou Sundiata (August 22, 1948 – July 18, 2007) was an African-American poet and performer, as well as a teacher at The New School in New York City. Famous students include musicians Ani DiFranco and Mike Doughty. His plays include ''The C ...

, ''LongStoryShort'' (Righteous Babe, 2000) * Warren Smith, ''Dragon Dave Meets Prince Black Knight from the Darkside of the Moon'' (Porter, 2011) * Henry Threadgill, '' When Was That?'' (About Time, 1982) * Henry Threadgill, '' Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket'' (About Time, 1983) *

World Saxophone Quartet The World Saxophone Quartet is an American jazz ensemble founded in 1977, incorporating elements of free jazz, R&B, funk and South African jazz into their music. The original members were Julius Hemphill (alto and soprano saxophone, flute), ...

, ''

Experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...

'' (Justin Time, 2004) * World Saxophone Quartet, '' Political Blues'' (Justin Time, 2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Craig S. American jazz composers American jazz trombonists American male trombonists Avant-garde jazz musicians Free jazz trombonists People from Hempstead (village), New York 1953 births Living people India Navigation artists State University of New York at Old Westbury alumni Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century trombonists American male jazz composers 21st-century American male musicians JMT Records artists Black Saint/Soul Note artists