Eddie Harris — Funk Project, 1990

Live capture of saxophonist Eddie Harris’ Funk Project, a major figure in American jazz, filmed around 1990. A pioneer of the electric saxophone and author of the hit “Listen Here,” Harris here leads a quintet built for groove: his own reeds and voice, Ronald Muldrow’s guitar, Bradley Bobo’s six-string bass, the drumming of the legendary James Gadson and Derf Reklaw Raheem’s percussion. The concert opens with an intro before running through “Funkaroma,” a sax solo welded to “Come Dance With Me,” then “I Need Some Money,” “Illusionary Dream,” “Get On Down,” “1974 Blues” and the essential “Listen Here,” before a wry band introduction (“Eddie Who?”). You hear everything that defines the Harris style: bluesy phrasing, humor, a sense of tempo and a refusal to wall off jazz, funk and soul. A rare filmed live concert, valuable for understanding Eddie Harris’ place at the crossroads of Black American music and his lasting influence on the funk and jazz scene.