Billy Harper is still a towering force: Video, Photos

Harper moved to New York in 1966, when he was 23, and began turning heads with the piercing and songful cry of his saxophone. It didn’t take long for him to become a prized collaborator for members of the jazz pantheon like Art Blakey, Max Roach and Lee Morgan. One of the last standing from his generation, Harper, who turns 80 on Tuesday, is still revered in the jazz world as both saxophonist and composer.

The lineage of jazz has long drawn upon ideas from gospel music, whether Louis Armstrong’s presentation of spirituals or Duke Ellington’s or Mary Lou Williams’ sacred music compositions. However, to some, the connection between faith-based songs and contemporary improvised music seems more tenuous. Artists are more likely to find a space between jazz and hip hop than look to the church. But, as our conversation with saxophonist Billy Harper makes clear, the ties continue to run deep. And while Harper is not as

In his nearly six decades as a professional musician, Harper has worked with some of the most significant artists in the music’s contemporary history. He was a Jazz Messenger with Art Blakey, had long working relationships with Gil Evans and Max Roach, and briefly played with Elvin Jones. The saxophonist shared the stage with Lee Morgan on several occasions, including on the evening of the trumpeter’s tragic death. Harper even, as part of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra took part in Louis Armstrong’s final studio album. For the past decade and a half, he has played a central role in the superpowered assemblage of former sidemen known as The Cookers. And while Harper is not as big a name as some others on the same instrument, his influence on later generations has been secured; among other things, it is near impossible to hear a solo by Kamasi Washington without sensing the elder’s contributions.

Given Harper’s bona fides as a saxophonist, it may be surprising to hear that he seems to view its bamboo, rubber, metal, and cork as mere components. His horn is primarily a way for him to sing as he had done in the church choir as a boy. The soulfulness, joy, and mourning one can hear in his solos come as much from doxology as the prominent artists he has worked with during his career. The connection to the gospel music of his youth continues to guide his music, even as the influences of greats like John Coltrane provide some new lyrics to add to the hymnal.

Soon Harper will turn eighty, a milestone celebrated by a series of performances at SMOKE Jazz Club in New York as part of the tenth annual Coltrane festival. In the first half of our conversation with him, we discuss the significance of turning eighty, his views on the saxophone, and his musical development as a youth in Houston, Texas.

Billy Harper is one of a generation of Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists who actually built upon the master’s work, rather than simply copy it. Harper is consummately well-rounded, able to play convincingly in any context, from bop to free. His muscular tone, lithe articulation, comprehensive harmonic knowledge, and unflagging energy define him as a saxophonist. He’s also possessed of an abundant imagination that connects directly to his blues and gospel roots. Though not as well-known as he might be, Harper is a jazz improviser of significant stature. Harper grew up in Houston, TX. By the age of five he was singing in church and at various choral events. At age 11 he was given a saxophone for Christmas. In the beginning he was mostly self-taught, though he was helped along by his uncle Earl Harper, a former trumpeter who had gone to school with bop trumpeter Kenny Dorham.

Dorham’s 1950s work was a formative influence. In his teens Harper played in R&B bands, and at the age of 14 formed his own quartet. In the early ’60s, Harper studied jazz at North Texas State University, where he became (at that time) the only African-American member of the school’s prestigious One O’Clock Lab Band. Harper graduated from NTSU with a Bachelor of Music degree and also did post-graduate work. In 1966 Harper moved to New York. That year, he led an ensemble that was featured on an NBC-TV special, “The Big Apple.” Within short time after arriving in New York, Harper started playing with well-known bandleaders.

In 1967 he began a long-lasting association with bandleader/arranger Gil Evans. Harper has played with some of jazz’s greatest drummers; he served with Blakey’s Messengers for two years (1968-1970); he played very briefly with Elvin Jones (1970), and was a member of Max Roach’s band in the late ’70s. Harper also became a regular member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. In the ’70s, Harper began recording under his own name for European labels. His album Black Saint (1975) was the first recording issued by the label of the same name; his In Europe (1979) inaugurated the Soul Note label.

Harper recorded relatively infrequently in the ’80s and ’90s, although he maintained an active performing career, mostly as a leader. He’s enjoyed a parallel career as a music educator, teaching at Livingston College and Rutgers. He’s also received multiple grants from various arts agencies, including two from the National Endowment of the Arts. Harper’s Black Saint LP was named Jazz Record of the Year — Voice Grand Prix, by the Modern Jazz League of Tokyo.