The Joe Harriott Quintet - Swings High

2022 release

The Joe Harriott Quintet Swings High, recorded in 1967 & released in 1970, saw Joe returning to his hard bop roots on a set that burns with a rare light. A top band of British jazz players, including the UK's greatest drummer, Phil Seamen, and the sensitive and less-known-than-it-should-be trumpet playing of Stu Hamer, create a session that transcends the difficulties of its recording to create a timeless record, and from the point of view of pure playing, one of Joe’s very best. For the first time hear this classic album as it was first released.

“Joe plays so fiercely on the record that at times it seems as though he’s about to blow his alto apart.” Coleridge Goode

“Shepherd's Serenade - always a big one! great reissue”. Gilles Peterson

released October 7, 2022

Joe Harriott (alto saxophone, leader); Stu Hamer (trumpet except on 6); Pat Smythe (piano); Coleridge Goode (bass); Phil Seamen (drums)

Original recording:
Engineer: Vic Keary
Supervision/Editing: Doug Dobell
Recording Date: 20th June 1967
Originally released as Melodisc LP MLP12-150.
This reissue: produced by MIKE GAVIN.
Remastering from the original vinyl by Caspar Sutton-Jones @ GEARBOX RECORDS, LONDON.
Cover rehash and design revisions by DAVID ILIC based on the 2004 Cadillac reissue by Savage Leisurecentre