TOM HARRELL INTERVIEW WITH ARUN RATH.mp4

You will notice right away that Tom Harrell doesn't look directly at SOUND TRACKS interviewer Arun Rath or the camera. Tom Harrell suffers from severe paranoid schizophrenia. Ordinary social interactions can be extremely difficult for him, so you can only imagine what a formal interview with lights, cameras, microphones and crew might feel like. We are grateful that he agreed to talk with us.

Tom's diagnosis came in his early twenties. Before that, it was clear that he was intellectually gifted and a musical prodigy. As a teenager, he was already jamming with local professional groups.

You can use any superlative you like to describe Tom's playing; he's one of those rare figures who has actually extended the vocabulary of the jazz trumpet. Since hitting the scene in the early '70s, Tom has also established himself as one of jazz's most important composers.

When he first sat down for SOUND TRACKS, Tom was clearly uncomfortable, but as we began to talk in detail about the music he had just played at the Village Vanguard, his responses became less halting. In the end we spoke for over an hour and a half—keep in mind this was well after 1:30 in the morning, following his second set that night— and his answers grew expansive and detailed, following unexpected connections much like one of his solos. You'll notice how Tom gradually begins to look up more and more, even cracking jokes by the end.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Tom Harrell
• Debussy
• Ravel
• Sound Tracks
• Arun Rath
• jazz trumpet
• Village Vanguard
• Meg Okura
• Steve Talbot

[bartostrumpet]

This was the best interview I have ever seen, thank you very much, I had tears in my eyes...

[jmotz3]

Thanks for sharing this. Great interview!