The Pace Report: "The King of Nouveau Swing" The Donald Harrison Interview

During the 1980's trumpeter Terence Blanchard and alto saxophonist were one of many great New Orleans young musicians hailed as "The Young Lions" that sparked the jazz renaissance that put the music on the map. Harrison is been and still is a trailblazer in jazz in helping bridge the gap between the past, the present, and the future. Playing with such legendary musical luminaries such as Art Blakey, Ellis Marsalis, Roy Haynes, and Jack McDuff; he also understands the heavy cultural and musical traditions of his Crescent City roots.

Currently he's The Big Chief of the Congo Nation, a place in New Orleans named after the historic Congo Square where during slavery, Africans danced and drummed on Sundays. Congo Square is where during Mardi Gras that tradition has residents and many ancestors wear uniforms and outfits paying homage to West Indian and Native American traditions.

Hailed as "The King of Nouveau Swing," Donald takes contemporary forms of hip-hop, bop, hard-bop, soul, funk, reggae, and R & B to his music and playing style.
He's just completed a week of recording a set of dates with the legendary Billy Cobham on drums and Ron Carter on bass for an upcoming live recording for Half Note Records this September. This will be the third recording the trio has recorded over the last ten years.

Donald is extremely active with HBO's critically acclaimed television series 'Treme' produced and written by "The Wire's" David Simon. Simon offered him an acting role, but decided to produce and perform music for the show as well as be a consultant for some of the characters. 'Treme's second season begins on HBO on April 24th. Check your local listings for times.

For upcoming tour dates and recording, visit him on the web at www.donaldharrison.com

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Music

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• Donald Harrison
• Billy Cobham
• Ron Carter
• Brian Pace
• The Pace Report
• The Blue Note NYC
• Half Note Records