Harold Land

Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Clifford Brown's instrumental ability with his own inventive and whimsical solos. His tone was strong and emotional, yet hinted at a certain introspective fragility.

Biography
Land was born in Houston, Texas, United States and grew up in San Diego, California. He started playing at the age of 16. He made his first recording as the leader of the Harold Land All-Stars, for Savoy Records in 1949. In 1954, he joined the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, with whom he was at the forefront of the hard-bop/bebop movement. The Land family moved from San Diego to Los Angeles, in 1955. There he played with Curtis Counce, led his own groups, and co-led groups with Bobby Hutcherson, Blue Mitchell, and Red Mitchell. From the 1970s onwards, his style showed the influence of John Coltrane.

In the early 1980s through to the early 1990s he worked regularly with the Timeless All Stars, a group sponsored by the Timeless jazz record label. The group consisted of Land on tenor, Cedar Walton on piano, Buster Williams on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, Curtis Fuller on trombone and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. Land also toured with his own band during this time, often including his son, Harold Land Jr., on piano and usually featuring Bobby Hutcherson and Billy Higgins as well. During these years he played regularly at Hop Singh's in Marina Del Rey in the L.A. area and the Keystone Korner in San Francisco.

Land was a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He joined the UCLA Jazz Studies Program as a lecturer in 1996 to teach instrumental jazz combo. "Harold Land was one of the major contributors in the history of the jazz saxophone," said jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, founder and director of the UCLA Jazz Studies Program.

Land died in July 2001, from a stroke, at the age of 72.

The progressive rock band Yes included a song "Harold Land" on their eponymous debut album in 1969. In a news/blog post on 20 September 2010, Bill Bruford commented about the song - "Harold Land was a hard-bop tenor saxophone player, dead now, but quite why we named a song after him I can't remember."

Playing style
Land had an inimitably dark tone within the hard-bop and modal jazz paradigms. Over time this would contrast more and more with the brighter tonalities of more Coltrane-influenced saxophonists, although Land started to implement Coltrane's musical innovations. Land's "dire, brooding [tenor saxophone] sound began somewhere between rhythm and blues and Coleman Hawkins, and after the early 1960s owed more and more to John Coltrane's harmonies, phrasing and experiments with modalism."

As leader/co-leader

 * 1958: Harold in the Land of Jazz (Contemporary, 1958)
 * 1958: The Harold Land Quartet, Jazz At The Cellar 1958 (Lone Hill Jazz, 2007)
 * 1959: The Fox (HiFi Jazz, 1960)
 * 1960: West Coast Blues! (Jazzland, 1960)
 * 1960: Eastward Ho! Harold Land in New York (Jazzland, 1960)
 * 1960: Take Aim (Blue Note, 1960)
 * 1961: The Red Mitchell-Harold Land Quintet, Hear Ye! (Atlantic, 1962)
 * 1963: Jazz Impressions of Folk Music (Imperial, 1963)
 * 1967–68: The Peace-Maker (Cadet, 1968)
 * 1971: A New Shade of Blue (Mainstream, 1971)
 * 1971: Choma (Burn) (Mainstream, 1971)
 * 1972: Damisi (Mainstream, 1972)
 * 1977?: Mapenzi with Blue Mitchell (Concord Jazz, 1977)
 * 1981: Xocia's Dance (Muse, 1981)
 * 1994: A Lazy Afternoon (Postcards, 1995)
 * 2000: Promised Land (Audiophoric, 2001)

As a member
The Timeless All Stars
 * It's Timeless (Timeless, 1982)
 * Timeless Heart (Timeless, 1983)
 * Essence (Delos, 1986)
 * Time for the Timeless All Stars (Early Bird, 1990)

As sideman
With Clifford Brown and Max Roach
 * Jam Session (EmArcy, 1954) - with Maynard Ferguson and Clark Terry
 * Brown and Roach Incorporated (EmArcy, 1954)
 * Daahoud (Mainstream, 1973) – rec. 1954
 * Clifford Brown & Max Roach (EmArcy, 1954)
 * Study in Brown (EmArcy, 1955)

With Curtis Counce
 * The Curtis Counce Group (Contemporary, 1956)
 * You Get More Bounce with Curtis Counce! (Contemporary, 1957)
 * Carl's Blues (Contemporary, 1960) – rec. 1957
 * Exploring the Future (Dooto, 1958)
 * Sonority (Contemporary, 1989) – rec. 1957-58

With Victor Feldman
 * Vic Feldman on Vibes (Mode, 1957)
 * Soviet Jazz Themes (Äva, 1962)

With Hampton Hawes
 * For Real! (Contemporary, 1961) – rec. 1958
 * Universe (Prestige, 1972)

With Billy Higgins
 * Bridgework (Contemporary, 1987)
 * ¾ for Peace (Red, 1993)
 * Billy Higgins Quintet (Sweet Basil, 1993)

With Bobby Hutcherson
 * Medina (Blue Note, 1969)
 * Total Eclipse (Blue Note, 1968)
 * Blow Up (Blue Note, 1969)
 * Now! (Blue Note, 1969)
 * San Francisco (Blue Note, 1970)
 * Head On (Blue Note, 1971)
 * Cirrus (Blue Note, 1974)
 * Inner Glow (Blue Note, 1975)
 * Farewell Keystone (Theresa, 1988) – rec. 1982

With Carmell Jones
 * The Remarkable Carmell Jones (Pacific Jazz 1961)
 * Business Meeting (Pacific Jazz 1962)

With Philly Joe Jones
 * Advance! (Galaxy, 1978)
 * Drum Song (Galaxy, 1985) – rec. 1978

With Wes Montgomery
 * Montgomeryland (Pacific Jazz, 1958)
 * Wes, Buddy and Monk Montgomery (Pacific Jazz, 1959)
 * Easy Groove (Pacific Jazz, 1966)

With Blue Mitchell
 * Stratosonic Nuances (RCA, 1975)
 * African Violet (Impulse!, 1977)
 * Summer Soft (Impulse!, 1978)

With Shorty Rogers
 * The Swingin' Nutcracker (RCA Victor, 1960)
 * An Invisible Orchard (RCA Victor, 1997) – rec. 1961

With Gerald Wilson
 * You Better Believe It! (Pacific Jazz, 1961)
 * Moment of Truth (Pacific Jazz, 1962)
 * ''Portraits (Pacific Jazz, 1964)
 * On Stage (Pacific Jazz, 1965)
 * Feelin' Kinda Blues (Pacific Jazz, 1965)
 * The Golden Sword (Pacific Jazz, 1966)
 * Live and Swinging (Pacific Jazz, 1967)
 * Everywhere (Pacific Jazz, 1968)
 * California Soul (Pacific Jazz, 1968)
 * Eternal Equinox (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
 * Lomelin (Discovery, 1981)
 * Jessica (Trend, 1982)
 * Calafia (Trend, 1985)

With others
 * Roy Ayers, Virgo Vibes (Atlantic, 1967)
 * Jimmy Bond, James Bond Songbook (Mirwood, 1966)
 * Donald Byrd, Ethiopian Knights (Blue Note, 1971)
 * Dolo Coker, Dolo! (Xanadu, 1976)
 * Bill Evans, Quintessence (Fantasy Records, 1976)
 * Ella Fitzgerald, Things Ain't What They Used to Be (And You Better Believe It) (1969)
 * Red Garland. Red Alert (Galaxy, 1977)
 * Herb Geller, Fire in the West (Jubilee, 1957)
 * Chico Hamilton, Chic Chic Chico (Impulse!, 1965)
 * Al Hibbler, Sings The Blues - Monday Every Day (Reprise, 1961)
 * Elmo Hope, The Elmo Hope Quintet featuring Harold Land (Pacific Jazz, 1957)
 * Freddie Hubbard, Born to Be Blue (Pablo, 1982)
 * Les McCann, Les McCann Sings (Pacific Jazz, 1961)
 * Thelonious Monk, Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk (Riverside 1960)
 * Frank Rosolino, Free for All (Fantasy, 1987) – rec. 1958
 * Jack Sheldon, Jack's Groove (GNP, 1961)
 * Dinah Washington, Dinah Jams (EmArcy, 1955)
 * Gerald Wiggins, Wiggin' Out (HiFi Jazz, 1960)
 * Jimmy Woods, Conflict (Contemporary, 1963)