Search - Earl Harvin, Dave Palmer :: Strange Happy

Making history

shugad | austin, tx | 04/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"im certain that the earl harvin trio will one day be remembered as one of the greatest jazz groups of our time. this is some of their earlier work, and is pretty hard to find now. i think its out of press, because they never have it at their shows (which are AMAZING.. go see them if you get the chance). Im giving it 5 stars because i love this group and this style, but this album isnt as cool as unincorporated, which i would give 10 stars if i could. unincorporated features an amazing array of genius songwriting and occasional experimental free jazz with electronics, all to good effect. strange happy is more orthodox and borrows more from earlier musicians, rather than paving their own new ground. dave palmer is a great pianist, but see him play the rhodes with electronic effects running through it on unincorporated to get the full effect of what these guys are capable of. others have written about earl harvins mastery of drums, so im not going to be redundant. hes the greatest drummer ive ever seen in person hands down. these guys are all ex-north texas jazz geniuses, like many other greats before them"

Percussive thrills

Author Brian Wallace (Mind Transmis | Texas | 10/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Earl Harvin is a master drummer who creates pure magic on the stage and in the studio. It's amazing to me that he seems to know exactly when to kick in the drumming and then when to slide back to let the other instruments be heard. His mastery of the drums is evident in his ability to make the most incredible sounds come out of them. He doesn't just play: he seems to take the instrument on a joy ride from jazz to rock and everywhere in between. He playfully re-arranges the neural connections in your head until you feel high! The high lasts a long time. The overall sound of this accomplished disc is very, very pleasing. I'd agree with the other reviewer who pontificated on the genius of the live show. You really must see it to believe it."