The Joe Harriott Quintet - Swings High

Newly remastered from the original vinyl at Gearbox Studio with extended liner notes and new information, The Joe Harriott Quintet's 'Swings High', recorded in 1967, 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 session, and from the point of view of pure playing, one of Joe's very best.

Joe Harriott: alto saxophone
Coleridge Goode: bass
Phil Seaman: drums
Pat Smythe: piano
Stu Hamer: trumpet

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

Some might say that this music is old-fashioned. If you'd call Bird and Fats Navarro playing Ornithology old-fashioned, then this is too. But it's still strong, warm music played with skill and feeling, and that's enough for me. - Richard Williams (1970)