Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) – Funkaroma (1974)

The prolific soul-jazz innovator co-wrote this funky fusion gem for his jazz-funk Is It In LP, engineered by Bruce Swedien with effects by Bob Moog.

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Eddie Harris was a prolific but underappreciated multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, and producer. He primarily played tenor sax but also designed his own unique instruments. Harris released more than sixty solo albums from the early 1960s until his untimely death in the mid-nineties at age 62.

See our earlier post on Harris and his breakthrough 1968 LP The Electrifying Eddie Harris for more on his musical career.

One of the tracks recorded during the sessions for The Electrifying Eddie Harris on March 20, 1967 was the beautiful, Coltrane-esque straight ahead jazz number “Of Age.” It was ultimately not included on the album, which was a massive commercial hit for Harris and landed at #2 on the R&B album charts, probably because it was out of step with the rest of the album’s funky soul jazz sounds. But Atlantic eventually released it several years later on his 1973 double LP Excursions.

Besides Harris on tenor sax and Jodie Christian on piano, who co-wrote the track with Harris, its stripped down backing band featured Melvin Jackson on bass and Richard Smith on drums.

In December, 1973, Harris went all-in on jazz-funk and recorded the album Is It In at Paragon Studios in Chicago. Released in late 1974, it returned him to the R&B album charts and also hit #100 on the Billboard 200. Produced by Geoffrey Haslam, it was engineered by the legendary Bruce Swedien, who would later serve as Michael Jackson’s main engineer on all his solo recordings. The LP’s pitch tracking effects were designed by synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog.

Highlights included the beautiful cosmic jazz cut “Space Commercial,” the funky soul-jazz “Look Ahere,” and the album’s title track, a nervous jazz-funk jam featuring Harris on electric tenor sax.

The LP’s opening cut and lead single was the funky fusion gem “Funkaroma,” which he co-wrote with his backing band members (drummer Billy James, guitarist Ronald Muldrow, and bassist Rufus Reid). Harris played electric piano on the track.

Further info:

“Eddie Harris, 62, Saxophonist And Adventurous Experimenter,” obituary, The New York Times, November 9, 1996.

“Eddie Harris (from “Electrifying Music”: The Life And Legacy of Bob Moog)," Cornell University.

#soul #jazz #funk #EddieHarris