Harris Plugs In, Zawinul Rides Along
The music swings, touches, fevers, detaches, and frightens—bursting with new ideas from Harris' plunge into electronics.
What makes Silver Cycles (1968) worth hearing is Joe Zawinul on electric piano. Harris had already begun experimenting with electronic processing on his horn—wah-pedals, ring modulators, whatever he could run his tenor through—but Zawinul brought the same restless hunger to the keyboard. When they lock in on tracks like "Shades of Jade," Zawinul's bright, almost nervous touch on the Fender Rhodes pushes against Harris's heavy, wet saxophone tone. It's not fusion exactly, not yet; it's something looser and more combative, like two musicians trying to outthink each other in real time.
The rhythm section—Billy Hart on drums, Richard Davis on bass—holds this together without fussing. Hart swings hard when the tune wants it, then pulls back into something more abstract. The brass section, stacked with Ernie Royal, Joe Newman, and Snooky Young, provides weight and color, particularly on the more arranged passages. Harris wrote most of this himself, and you can hear him testing different temperatures: some moments are straight postbop, others dissolve into something closer to psychedelia.
AllMusic reviewer noted the music bursts with new ideas generated from Harris' plunge into electronics, adding the album has been unjustly overlooked, probably because Harris was selling records and getting airplay at the time. That's fair. This isn't a landmark; it's a working musician with good instincts and access to new toys, making something honest and slightly strange. Zawinul would go on to bigger things with Herbie Hancock, but here he's a sideman doing exactly what the moment needed—pushing back, listening hard, and matching Harris's appetite for weirdness.
Who's playing
Melvin Jacksonbass
Richard Davisbass
Monk Montgomerybass
Jodie Christianpiano
Joe Zawinulpiano
Eddie Harristenor saxophone
Haywood Henrybaritone saxophone
Bernie Glowtrumpet
Joe Newmantrumpet
Ernie Royaltrumpet
Melvin Lastietrumpet
Snooky Youngtrumpet
Benny Powelltrombone
Bruno Carrdrums
Richard Smithdrums
Billy Hartdrums
Marcelino Valdescongas
Seldon Powellwoodwind
Phil Bodnerwoodwind
Where next?
More by Eddie Harris
All 36 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
