Jump to content

Winard Harper

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Winard Harper
Birth nameHiram Winard Harper
Born (1962-06-04) June 4, 1962 (age 62)
Baltimore, Maryland
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums
Years active1980s–present
LabelsSavant

Hiram Winard Harper (born June 4, 1962) is an American jazz drummer.

Career

[edit]

Harper played in the 1980s with Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, and with Betty Carter for four years. While working with Carter he met Wycliffe Gordon, with whom Harper would collaborate repeatedly.[1]

From 1988 to 1993 he worked with his brother, trumpeter Philip Harper, in the group The Harper Brothers, alongside Justin Robinson, Javon Jackson, Walter Blanding, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Stephen Scott, Kevin Hays, Michael Bowie, and Nedra Wheeler.[2]

After the dissolution of the Harper brothers, Winard recorded several albums as a leader. In the early 2000s he worked with his sextet and performed at Lincoln Center in New York City.[3] He played with Avery Sharpe in 2008.[4] He leads the group Jeli Posse.[5]

Discography

[edit]

As leader

[edit]
  • Be Yourself (Epicure, 1994)
  • Trap Dancer (Savant, 1998)
  • Winard (Savant, 1999)
  • A Time for the Soul (Savant, 2003)
  • Come into the Light (Savant, 2004)
  • Coexist (Jazz Legacy, 2012)

The Harper Brothers

  • Remembrance Live at the Village Vanguard (Verve, 1990)
  • Artistry (Verve, 1991)
  • You Can Hide Inside the Music (Verve, 1992)

As sideman

[edit]

With Ray Bryant

  • Ray's Tribute to His Jazz Piano Friends (JMI, 1998)
  • North of the Border (Label M, 2001)
  • Godfather (M&I, 2011)

With Betty Carter

  • Look What I Got! (Verve, 1988)
  • Betty Carter (Verve, 1990)
  • Betty Carter's Finest Hour (Verve, 2003)

With Wycliffe Gordon

  • The Gospel Truth (Criss Cross, 2000)
  • The Search (Nagel Heyer, 2007)

With Etta Jones

With David "Fathead" Newman

With Houston Person

With Avery Sharpe

  • Dragon Fly (JKNM, 2004)
  • Legends & Mentors (JKNM, 2008)
  • Autumn Moonlight (JKNM, 2009)
  • Avery Sharpe Trio Live (JKNM, 2010)

With Billy Taylor

  • Urban Griot (Soundpost, 2001)
  • Live at IAJE New York (Soundpost, 2002)
  • Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center (Kennedy Center Jazz, 2005)

With Frank Wess

  • Surprise, Surprise! (Chiaroscuro, 1998)
  • Once Is Not Enough (Labeth, 2009)
  • Magic 101 (IPO, 2013)

With others

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Interview with jazz drummer Winard Harper". AXS. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  2. ^ "Winard Harper Coexist". eJazzNews. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  3. ^ Witmer, Rose of Sharon. "Winard Harper". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. ^ Whiteis, David (June 2008). "Jazz Reviews: Legends & Mentors: The Music of McCoy Tyner, Archie Shepp, and Yusef Lateef", JazzTimes.
  5. ^ "Interview with jazz drummer Winard Harper". AXS. Retrieved 2017-12-24.