Jazz Reviews : Billy Harper Quintet

Billy Harper, the Texas-born tenor saxophonist who opened Tuesday at Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood, is a powerful, hard-driving performer whose quintet places an almost unrelenting accent on energy and high tension.

Well known for his work with Gil Evans and Art Blakey, Harper is said to have been inspired by Sonny Rollins. However, it was the image of John Coltrane that hung over the group as it made its way through a series of modally inclined original compositions. Although the thematic statements were brief, the extended solos seemed to indicate that such words as succinct and terse are not in these artists’ vocabulary. By the time the third tune ended a full hour had elapsed.

Harper’s control of the horn is impressive, but when playing as many as a dozen notes per second, it is no easy task to relate any of them to the beat of the rhythm section. Thus swinging in the normal sense becomes impractical.

Eddie Henderson’s trumpet, Clarence Seay’s bass and the powerhouse drumming of Newman Taylor Baker make up a unit well geared to Harper’s requirement. The group closes Sunday.