Live & Local: Big Chief Donald Harrison’s “Multi-Genre Jazz”

Think of jazz as a super-genre, from which one can draw a multitude of other styles. That’s what NEA Jazz Master “Big Chief” Donald Harrison has done on his latest release, a two-disc set called “The Eclectic Jazz Revolution of Unity.” One particular track, “The Magic Touch,” takes shape in five different forms: Reggae, NOLA beat, Latin, Blues, Bossa, and different jazz arrangements.

“It’s the culmination of 40 years of work,” Harrison told KUVO Morning Set host Carlos Lando. “I wanted to learn every era of jazz from the musicians who made up this music. That led me to Nouveau Swing, where I mixed modern dance music with the swinging music of every era of jazz. That led me to play the same song in multi-genres.” To describe the way jazz moves around and through the music world, Harrison invokes a concept articulated by physicist Max Planck, string theory.

The topic of multiple musical universes gets deep, but the tracks are totally accessible. Enjoy the conversation and the musical samples below, and find out more about Donald Harrison.

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