Harrell's highly regarded status is not surprising given his experience. He has performed with some of jazz's most noted leaders, composers and arrangers, including Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Horace Silver, Bill Evans, Lee Konitz and Phil Woods. Aside from sheer musical integrity, each of the aforementioned artists demanded something different from his trumpet player, and Harrell delivered. At the time he became a leader in the late 1980s, buzz about his work as a sideman was loud, and expectations were high.
Over the past decade Harrell has exceeded those expectations. He has topped critics' and readers' polls in jazz magazines and other publications, and even received the best jazz album nod from Entertainment Weekly for his 1998 release, The Art of Rhythm. And he has achieved everything while battling schizophrenia since the early '60s.
Harrell's most awe-inspiring moments are when he's on stage. That's when he truly becomes a vehicle for the music. When he plays a chart, he pays close attention to detail. But when he improvises, he's set free from boundaries. At those moments, to call what comes out of his horn the work of genius wouldn't be a stretch at all.
