Harris Eisenstadt

Clifford Allen

CD/DVD Reviewer since 2002

Clifford Allen wishes he could've shared a loft at 27 Cooper Square in 1966.

Recent articles (228 total)

Published: February 7, 2010

"The music of Canada Day is based on forms—even if they're very open, they're still songs. The band lineup was solidified on July 1, 2007, which is Canada Day. It just seemed like a good name and it was appropriately titled. Canada is a big part of who I am. It's where I grew up. The record is all about dedication—that's important in how I title my work." With regular collaborators in trumpeter Nate Wooley and vibraphonist Chris Dingman, the group also features Norwegian-born bassist Eivind Opsvik and tenor man Matt Bauder. With Bauder called in to sub for the Broadway musical Fela in February, cellist Chris Hoffman will replace him on a series of new quintet pieces, separating the lineup from any Wayne Shorter/Joe Chambers outfit of yore.

"I spent a lot of my decade as a bandleader-composer taking Wadada Leo Smith's advice. He said 'if you're going to get something together, think about unusual instrumentation and sonorities and think about challenging yourself from an orchestration or arranging concept.' So a lot of my groups have been about having a somewhat unconventional instrumentation." The upset of structural complacency, coupled with an approach to writing that centers on paring down, is what gives Harris Eisenstadt's music a feel far from the expectations of a percussionist's band.

Selected Discography:
Harris Eisenstadt Quintet, Jalolu (CIMP, 2003)
Harris Eisenstadt, The Soul and Gone (482 Music, 2004)
Harris Eisenstadt, Ahimsa Orchestra (Nine Winds, 2004-5)
Harris Eisenstadt, The All Seeing Eye + Octets (Poo-Bah, 2006)
Harris Eisenstadt, Guewel (Clean Feed, 2008)
Harris Eisenstadt, Canada Day (Clean Feed, 2009)