Joel Harrison’s Free Country
“A guitarist, composer, and arranger of amazing skill and breadth.” – Downbeat Magazine
Guitarist, composer, arranger, lyricist, writer, educator, and vocalist Joel Harrison’s music may be founded on jazz but veers into classical, rock, country, and all manner of American roots music. Succinctly described by the New York Times as “protean… brilliant,” he has also written multiple works for chamber ensembles and is an active film composer, having worked on the Oscar-nominated Traffic Stop and the Sundance awardee Southern Comfort. Harrison is the founder and director of the Alternative Guitar Summit, a yearly festival devoted to new and unusual guitar music and the author of Guitar Talk: conversations with visionary players as well as Pity the Genius: A History of American Guitar Music in 33 Tracks. He brings to Big Ears his Free Country project, a band that recontextualizes country and Appalachian music into a jazz context. Participants in the band’s three recordings dating back to 2003 include Uri Caine, David Binney, Norah Jones, Tony Cedras, Brian Blade, as well as those in the current lineup.
