Jazz artist Eric Harland returns to Skidmore Feb. 16 & 17
Magnetic drummer Eric Harland returns to Skidmore College for a two-day Filene Concert Series residency Feb. 16-17, which will be capped by a concert in Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall at the Arthur Zankel Music Center.
Performing with Harland at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, will be a slate of outstanding jazz musicians: Taylor Eigsti, piano; Julian Lage, guitar; Harish Raghavan, bass; Chris Potter, saxophone; and Becca Stevens and Josh Mease, vocals.
General admission for the event is $12; $5 for students. Tickets are available online.
Harland has performed at Skidmore several times in the past five years, both with his own ensembles and as the featured drummer with other jazz greats.
For this Skidmore performance, Harland will present a three-part program titled "The Development of Eric Harland."
"I basically just love music," Harland said in a recent email message, "and if people want to truly understand ME, the first thing is by the way of knowing that I believe in 'all' music that touches the heart, no matter the genre. It's hard at times to showcase that with just one group, so I've put together a three-part show, to show Skidmore the multi-sidedness of Eric Harland," the musician said.
The first part of the program is titled " 'Inspiration', featuring singers Becca Stevens and Josh Mease, with their own musical voice and style that has truly captured my heart," Harland wrote. Next will come "Influence," with the Harland Quintet doings songs from "Voyager," "Live by Night," and a few new pieces. "The basic concept is living in the music," Harland said of the program's second part.
He titled the third part of the program "Invigorate," with "Messiah Complex," featuring everyone together. "This show will display my belief in jazz, and how the creativity in music truly lies in the hearts of the musicians," said Harland.
"We're forging our own creative song for the world to hear," he added.
Harland has performed with nearly every living jazz great, from McCoy Tyner to Zakir Hussain. Having played on 18 film scores, he is a master of emotional segues, crafting a story that fully comes to life only in live performance. The Web site www.bohemian.com carried this review of Harland: "With impeccable touch and flawless taste, Harland not only drummed?he actually deciphered the conversation on stage into the most representational and delightful stickwork this side of Jack DeJohnette."
A native of Houston, Texas, Harland began his professional career as he finished his studies at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He won first chair with the Regional and All-State Jazz Band, and received a Citation for Outstanding Musicianship from the International Association of Jazz Educators.
Trumpet great Wynton Marsalis "discovered" Harland during a high school workshop, and encouraged him to study in New York City.
Harland attended Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship, and then went on to study theology at Houston Baptist University (College of Biblical Studies), becoming an ordained minister.
Pianist John Nazarenko of Skidmore's jazz faculty said student musicians will meet with the musicians of Harland's quintet for master classes and student combos will take part in a master class with the professionals. The master class is open for the public to watch from 4 to 6 p.m. in ELM (Room 117).
"We're tremendously pleased to be able to have our students learn directly from such talented and accomplished musicians," Nazarenko said.
