Joe Harriott documentary, Jazz File, BBC Radio 3, October 2006

Perusing the comments, I noticed that Hum Dono, the record Joe Harriott made with Amancio D'Silva back in 1969, is now finally out again on cd and vinyl. We have posted it in the past, with a little help from friends across the Atlantic, so its rerelease calls for a celebration here on the blog.

I've selected to post a two-part documentary on Harriott origninally broadcast on Jazz File on BBC Radio 3 on 7 and 14 October 2006. The series which were given to artist profiles has in the meantime been discontinued. I got it on two cdrs from a contact at the BBC, so the sound quality is top notch. Presented by Soweto Kinch, we get to hear snips of his entire oeuvre from the 50s and up to the late 60s and many interviews with fellow musicians, acquaintances and biographers. It's a revelation to hear Joe Harriott's voice and l just love his uppercrust accent!

There is a subtext which shines through in Harriott's comments in that he was quite conscious of taking an indedenpent stance against the predominance of American jazz at the time. For him, it was quite important to demonstrate that there was more than one place for jazz which might indicate why he chose the UK which after all was further away from his native Jamaica than the US. He also became a victim of the gradual withering away of the live market for jazz in the early 70s which made a luminary such as Stan Tracey consider giving up his jazz career and taking a job as a postman!

For the sake of convenience, I've spliced the two parts into one for your listening pleasure. There seems to be a little bit missing right at the beginning of part 1, but not too distracting, I hope, so what else to say but enjoy!