Harrison, Joel / Urban Myths
Album: Urban Myths   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Harrison, Joel   Added:Jun 2009
Label:Highnote  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2009-08-30 Pull Date: 2009-11-01 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Nov 1 Oct 25 Oct 18 Oct 11 Oct 4 Sep 27 Sep 20 Sep 13
Airplays: 1 2 2 1 3 5 1 1

Recent Airplay
1. Nov 09, 2017: No Cover, No Minimum
Between The Traveler And The Setting Sun
4. Oct 21, 2009: ... Over the Hump (or "Sunshine in the Afternoon")
You Must Go Through A Winter
2. May 11, 2012: No Cover, No Minimum
High Expectation Low Return
5. Oct 20, 2009: Memory Select
High Expectation Low Return
3. Oct 27, 2009: Memory Select
Urban Myths
6. Oct 17, 2009: Music Casserole
Between The Traveler And The Setting Sun

Album Review
Fo
Reviewed 2009-08-29
JOEL HARRISON: Urban Myths
HighNote, 2009

MODERN JAZZ – Forward-thinking guitarist Harrison looks back to the world of 1970s electric fusion -- as he says, “that playground where jazz, funk, rock and blues are one.” The tunes here fit that description, but avoid flash and glam stereotypes, instead updating and expanding the textures, rhythms and colliding strains that made fusion innovative and exciting in the first place. Off-center harmonies hang from catchy circular frameworks, as his quirky electro-acoustic band explores the space within and beyond the grooves. Good stuff.

* * * * | Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8

1. 6:35 – uptempo pulse, soaring theme: angular violin; sax arcs, loops, blazes
2. 6:06 – sneaky midtempo groove: spacey keyboard, dirty rockin’ guitar
3. 11:18 – brooding, sinister pulse warped by tempo shifts and oblique harmonies; guitar sneers and sings, sax puzzles and spins
4. 7:58 – shuffling ballad: a quiet country feel gives way to hot bluesy soul
5. 6:19 – funkified deconstruction of a Monk tune: darting, skittering, elusive
6. 8:43 – modular, episodic: rising theme, pretty piano, lyrical sax, spins down
7. 5:00 – upbeat funky strut gets thoughtful w/violin solo, then flies into space
8. 3:35 – uptempo punk-jazz romp: doesn’t go as far as it could, but it’s fun

[ Fo ] 08/29/09

Track Listing
1. You Must Go Through A Winter   5. Straight No Chaser (Variations)
2. 125 And Lenox   6. Between The Traveler And The Setting Sun
3. Mood Rodeo   7. Urban Myths
4. Last Waltz For Queva   8. High Expectation Low Return