Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

LAND, Harold

(b 18 Feb. '28, Houston TX; d 27 July 2001) Tenor sax. Grew up on West Coast; self-taught; gigged at Creole Palace with Froebel Brigham on trumpet, drummer Leon Petties; with four others they recorded four titles at 'Harold Land All Stars' session '49 issued on Savoy. He played with Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet '54-5, Curtis Counce '57-8, on an unissued session '59 with trombonist Frank Rosolino, discovered and issued on Specialty '86; also with Gerald Wilson. The period's West Coast black jazz scene was undervalued because of the prominence of the white 'cool jazz' genre, but Carl Perkins, Hampton Hawes, Counce, Land and others (to say nothing of Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy, though they made their reputations elsewhere) are evidence that hotter stuff was going on. A quintet set on Contemporary '58 (later Harold In The Land Of Jazz on Fantasy) was his first LP under his own name; then his most famous: The Fox, made in '59 in LA with Elmo Hope, Dupree Bolton, Herbie Lewis on bass, Frank Butler, drums; originally on Hifijazz and then out of print: reissued on Contemporary '69 it lived up to legendary reputation, bop with lyricism and crystalline heat. More LPs: West Coast Blues! with Wes Montgomery and Eastward Ho! Harold Land In New York with Kenny Dorham, both '60 and originally on Jazzland; Take Aim '60 on Blue Note (quintet with Petties); Atlantic LP '61 with Red Mitchell, Petties, Carmell Jones (trumpet; b 19 July '36, Kansas City; moved to Europe '65, d 7 Nov. '96); Jazz Impressions Of Folk Music '63 on Imperial with Jones. Land also played on Jones's Business Meetin' '62 on Pacific Jazz (nonet tracks with Bud Shank, Leroy Vinnegar arranged by Wilson; quintet items with Gary Peacock). A Cadet LP '68 with Bobby Hutcherson was followed by Choma with Hutcherson on Mainstream early '70s, including his son Harold on keyboards (b 25 April '50, San Diego; has recorded with Wayne Henderson on Atlantic, etc; Lands father and son played with the Wilson orchestra); Mapenzi '77 on Concord Jazz (co-led with Blue Mitchell: Land played on Mitchell LPs on RCA c'75, Impulse '77); Live At Junk '80 made in Tokyo; Xocia's Dance '81 on Muse with Hutcherson, Oscar Brashear, Billy Higgins etc; A Lazy Afternoon on Postcards CD with Higgins and others. Land also played on Hutcherson LPs on Blue Note, etc.