Remi Harris

“In On The 2”

(Yardbird Arts)

I’ve been charting the progress of Herefordshire born guitarist Remi Harris since 2010 when I first saw him perform with his trio at the Duke’s Arms pub in the nearby town of Presteigne.

Originally from the small town of Bromyard Harris is still based locally and this fact has enabled me to witness many of his live performances in the following years and to take great pleasure in the progress that he has made. Not yet thirty Harris has become one of the UK’s most successful jazz guitarists and an increasingly popular live attraction. He has played sell out shows at the Brecon and Cheltenham Jazz Festivals and in 2016 travelled to Canada to appear at the prestigious Montreal Jazz Festival. Harris’ performances at Cheltenham have led to airplay on Jamie Cullum’s Radio 2 programme and on Cerys Matthews’ show on BBC Radio 6.

“In On The 2” was favourably reviewed by vocalist Jeannie Barton for London Jazz News and it’s probably fair to say that these days Harris and his trio are far more than just a ‘regional’ attraction. Nevertheless he still plays many local gigs and his success has been built on hard work and an increasingly high standard of professionalism. I’ve never seen Harris play a bad gig whatever the environment, be it the back room of my local pub (the Bell Inn in Leominster) or the 750 seat Jazz Arena at Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

Harris began his career as lead guitarist of the rock group Mars Bonfire who built up an impressive local following and also got to support leading hard rock acts at the 700 capacity rock club the Robin 2 in Bilston, one of the Midlands’ leading rock venues. However Harris quickly became tired of the restrictions of rock music and developed an increasing fascination with the music of gypsy jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt.

Eventually Harris quit Mars Bonfire and formed his own all acoustic gypsy jazz trio. A musician of immense technical ability, he quickly mastered the new style and soon began developing a healthy following on the jazz circuit, his reputation flourishing by sheer word of mouth. Audiences at Remi Harris gigs tend to come back for more.

Harris has also worked hard at his stage craft. The mumbling, monosyllabic youth of 2010 youth has developed into an increasingly assured between tunes interlocutor, his stage patter now both entertaining and informative with plenty of information about the songs he performs and the instruments he plays.

Harris’ trio has gone through a number of personnel changes over the years with rhythm guitarist Ben Salmon and double bassist Del Strother appearing on Harris’ début recording “Live At The Hatch” (2010). Harris’ long awaited second album, “Ninick”, appeared in 2014 on the Big Bear Music label and featured the core trio ( Salmon, plus either Tom Moore or Mike Green on bass) plus a number of guest musicians including Alan Barnes on reeds and Ben Cummins on trumpet. The presence of Barnes was indicative of the progress Harris had made and the album’s liner notes were written by the highly respected Dave Gelly of The Observer.

“Ninick” was generally well received and Harris consolidated his success with further gigging with the vastly experienced Birmingham based musician Mike Green now firmly ensconced in the bass chair. Cotwold based guitarist Andy (AC) Wood fulfilled the role of second guitarist for a while , often sharing lead guitar duties with Harris. More recently the Australian born Caley Groves has been the trio’s second guitarist but has been functioning solely as Harris’ rhythmic foil, a role filled for many years by Ben Salmon. He has also played shows with an extended line up as the Remi Harris Jazz Project, this group also featuring the talents of folk/jazz vocalist Deborah Rose and violinist Matt Holborn.

After making his mark as a gypsy jazz guitarist Harris has slowly re-introduced other elements of his musical DNA into his trio’s live shows with aspects of pop, rock, folk, funk, world and blues all finding their way into recent live performances. It’s an approach that has found favour with Harris’ growing army of listeners and has added greater interest and variety to his live shows.

The pieces that feature on “In On The 2” have all been staples of Harris’ live performances during the last two years or so. In many ways the album is a return to basics having been recorded at Cobnash Studio in Harris’ native Herefordshire with studio owner Josh Watkins engineering. It appears on the Yardbird Arts imprint, the record label and artist and event management business co-ordinated by Remi’s wife and manager Dani Harris.

The eleven tracks feature Harris playing all the guitars, including the rhythm parts. The lead parts were recorded first to a guide track with Harris then responding to his own playing as he, sometimes aided by Green, subsequently added the rhythm parts. It’s an approach that, in the main, has worked very well, thanks in no small part to the musicians’ familiarity with the material, something honed and refined on a myriad of gigs.

Harris’ liner notes offer brief insights into the inspiration behind each selection, some of which will be familiar to anybody who has the seen the Harris trio playing live in the last couple of years.

The album commences with a highly effective gypsy jazz arrangement of the Lennon / McCartney tune “Can’t Buy Me Love”. Harris cites The Beatles as a primary musical influence and “Ninick” included a gypsy jazz version of “Lady Madonna”. The Beatles’ songs lend themselves particularly well to this approach and it’s a tribute to Harris’ skills that in his hands they almost sound as if they could have been written specifically with this style in mind.

Harris’ prodigious technical skills are well illustrated in his arrangement of Ray Noble’s much covered “Cherokee”. The guitarist teases the listener with the gentle introduction before suddenly erupting into a breakneck tempo which showcases his stunning virtuosity to great effect. 

“Cissy Strut” by the New Orleans funk band The Meters has been a staple of the Harris Trio’s live shows in recent years. Its seductively loping groove again lends itself well to a gypsy jazz interpretation and this recorded version features Green as a soloist alongside the leader. An immaculate time keeper and an imaginative soloist Green is the comparative ‘elder statesman’ of the group and has very much made the bass slot his own.

Harris spars gently with himself on the beautiful Thelonious Monk ballad “Round Midnight”, a much loved and much played jazz standard that is given a unique interpretation by this talented young guitarist.

Another piece that has been in Harris’ set list for some time is “Odd Elegy”, a composition written by the Tunisian oud player Dhafer Youssef. With its mind boggling 39/16 time signature this is probably the most technically demanding piece on the album and Harris admits that when he first heard it the tune confused and excited him in equal measure. After finally working out the technical challenges he decided to include in his set in an arrangement that combines gypsy jazz with the sounds of North Africa. For all its complexities Harris’ version of the tune is highly effective and a jaw dropping technical tour de force.

“Have You Met Miss Jones” finds Harris back in more familiar jazz territory as he pays tribute to Joe Pass, one of his primary influences with regard to jazz guitar. Jeannie Barton’s review suggests that this is a one take solo guitar performance, if so it’s another stunning display of technical expertise – and great fun with it.

Green’s bass introduces “Bock To Bock”, written by pianist/vibist Buddy Montgomery but more familiarly associated with the composer’s guitarist brother Wes, another of Harris’ early guitar heroes. Green’s opening motif also seems to allude to the infamous Deep Purple “Smoke On The Water” riff , something that Harris, like every other guitarist must surely have played in his time. Harris deploys an archtop jazz guitar for the lead lines while comping on acoustic alongside Green’s gently swinging, sonorous bass. Green takes another solo towards the close in a further demonstration of his considerable dexterity.

Neil Young’s “Old Man” is another song from Harris’ childhood. “This tune reminds me of being nine years old in the back of my Dad’s car on the way to football training” he recalls. He deploys a solid body electric guitar for the lead parts here, played using a bottle neck slide. The keening, emotive sound that he generates ensures that this is a highly convincing piece of Americana and the familiarity of the song to many listeners has ensured its popularity at gigs.

Harris dedicates his version of the Bill Evans tune “Waltz For Debby” to his grandfather Bob, the only real jazz fan in the family. Evans’ tune is often played as a ballad but Harris treats it to a jaunty, up-tempo treatment, broadly in the gypsy jazz style, skilfully blending the different guitar parts together via the medium of modern recording technology.

Harris is a former student of the great Gary Potter and the pair have subsequently played some informal concerts together. I saw one of these back in 2011 with Potter playing alongside Harris and bassist Tom Moore. They encored with “Puttin’ On The Ritz”, a tune which Harris had first heard on Potter’s “Live At The Quecumbar” album. Harris has since performed at London’s Quecumbar himself, the venue prides itself as ‘London’s home of gypsy jazz’ and it’s yet another feather in his cap to have played there. The guitarist has also added “Puttin’ On The Ritz” to his own repertoire and he fairly romps through it here combining feverishly picked lead lines with audaciously syncopated rhythms. Yes, it’s a gypsy jazz staple, but that doesn’t prevent this version from being infectiously exciting.

Harris grew up listening to electric guitar heroes such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Also included in that list was Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac and it’s Green’s tune “Need Your Love So Bad” that closes the album. Harris’ version features his solid bodied electric guitar and is a delicious slow blues played with great taste and feeling above a sparse acoustic rhythm. Harris’ electric wails and soars and the piece has become a real show stopper at his trio’s live performances.

For anybody who has witnessed a Remi Harris live show in recent years “In On The 2” represents a terrific concert souvenir. But it’s also an impressive artistic statement in its own right, immaculately crafted and impressively varied but still remaining true to its initial gypsy jazz inspirations. Harris performs brilliantly throughout and his skill and expertise is well documented by engineer Watkins.

If there’s a criticism it’s that we don’t hear enough of Green, who is a hugely important figure at the Harris Trio’s live shows and who arguably deserved a greater degree of exposure. But in many senses this is a true solo album, and one that for the most part succeeds supremely well. Harris’ many fans will love it, new converts will be attracted to the fold and the stock of this highly talented young musician will surely continue to rise. 

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