Black Pearl (Harrison/Blanchard album)

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Black Pearl
Black Pearl (HarrisonBlanchard album).jpg
Studio album by
Harrison/Blanchard
Released1988
Genre Jazz
Label Columbia
Producer George Petit
Harrison/Blanchard chronology
Crystal Stair
(1987)		Black Pearl
(1988)

Black Pearl is an album by the American jazz duo Harrison/Blanchard, released in 1988. [1] [2] It was their final album together; Terence Blanchard began his long partnership with the director Spike Lee on School Daze , released the same year. [3] The duo supported the album with a North American tour. [4]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by George Petit. [5] Donald Harrison and Blanchard were backed by Carl Allen on drums, Reginald Veal on bass, and Cyrus Chestnut on piano. [6] Mark Whitfield played guitar on "Infinite Heart". [7] Harrison played a C melody saxophone on some of the songs. [8] "Somewhere" is an interpretation of Leonard Bernstein's composition. [9] "Selim Sivad" is a paean to Miles Davis. [7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Windsor Star C [12]

The Washington Post noted that "the mood is generally dark, somber and understated—even 'Ninth Ward Strut', the third tune on the album and the first to really emphasize a beat, keeps the rhythms tightly contained." [9] The Globe and Mail said that the duo's "tunes are flirtatious, full of ambiguities and open ends; their solos are as often wistfully evasive as they are punchy and to the point." [13] The Ottawa Citizen stated that the "solid, post-bop improvising shows the duo's ability to move outside conventions and to compose well structured pieces." [14]

The Windsor Star concluded that "the title cut has a haunting quality, quietly suspenseful, but some tunes are blandly vamp-like." [12] The Buffalo News opined that "there is something curiously abstract, theoretical and even tentative about the record". [15] The Commercial Appeal praised "Blanchard's finest recorded trumpet solos". [16] The New York Daily News opined that the duo "prove that recreating bop-era jazz needn't result in wax-museum-like records like those of Wynton Marsalis." [17] The Pittsburgh Press and The Edmonton Journal included Black Pearl on their lists of the 10 best jazz albums of 1988. [18] [19]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Selim Sivad" 
2."Black Pearl" 
3."Ninth Ward Strut" 
4."Infinite Heart" 
5."The Center Piece" 
6."Somewhere" 
7."Dizzy Gillespie's Hands" 
8."Toni" 
9."Birth of the Abstract" 

References

  1. ↑ Magro, Anthony (2002). Contemporary Cat: Terence Blanchard with Special Guests. Scarecrow Press. p. 83.
  2. ↑ Jones IV, James T. (September 13, 1988). "Traditionalists hit the big time". USA Today. p. 2D.
  3. ↑ Levesque, Roger (December 11, 1992). "Trumpeter alternates jazz sets, movie sets". Edmonton Journal. p. F3.
  4. ↑ McNally, Owen (July 24, 1988). "Weak sound trims jazz quintet to trio". Hartford Courant. p. B4.
  5. ↑ Lemcke, Steve (January 30, 1997). "The Desired Effect is what you get". Weekend. The Burlington Free Press. p. 5.
  6. ↑ Ross, Alan (September 25, 1988). "Jazz needs TV exposure, trumpeter says". The Indianapolis Star. p. E6.
  7. 1 2 3 "Black Pearl Review by Scott Yanow". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Davis, Francis (July 7, 1988). "Jazz". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 4E.
  9. 1 2 Joyce, Mike (June 17, 1988). "The Marsalis Mainstream". The Washington Post. p. D2.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
  11. ↑ MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 125.
  12. 1 2 Stevens, Peter (September 17, 1988). "Jazz". The Windsor Star. p. C2.
  13. ↑ Miller, Mark (July 28, 1988). "Jazz". The Globe and Mail. p. C3.
  14. ↑ Moody, Lois (August 26, 1988). "Too cool Marsalis heads talented sets by Blakey alumni". The Ottawa Citizen. p. B6.
  15. ↑ Simon, Jeff (July 1, 1988). "Jazz". Gusto. The Buffalo News. p. 32.
  16. ↑ Wynn, Ron (July 1, 1988). "Albums". The Commercial Appeal. p. E23.
  17. ↑ Browne, David (July 10, 1988). "Pop Music". City Lights. Daily News. p. 23.
  18. ↑ Karlovits, Bob (December 29, 1988). "It was a fine year for jazz, but the great albums few and far between". The Pittsburgh Press. p. D7.
  19. ↑ Adams, James (December 30, 1988). "The Year In: Jazz Records". The Edmonton Journal. p. D4.
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