Deep Inside Pittsburgh Jazz

Harrison Hip Boppin’ at the Crawford Grill

Early on in his “Pittsburgh’s Jazz Legacy” class, instructor Dr. Nelson Harrison floated this question: “How many of you discovered jazz later in your life?” A few hands went up. Some wag called out, “Define ‘later’,” to general laughter. Harrison said, “I mean, not as a child.” Someone else said, “Ohhh.” All the hands went up. More laughter. Harrison said, “Alright, I’m going to ask you this question–how did you discover it?” One person said, “On the radio”. Another said, “At a bar.” More laughter. A third said, “I had some fraternity brothers who turned me on to it.”

Harrison paused a beat. He said, “I was born into jazz…that must’ve been how I discovered it. In Homewood, where I grew up, it was everywhere…it was ubiquitous. The music poured out of the doorways of homes; it seemed that every home had a piano. I’ve been playing professional music since I was thirteen years old, and I never went to music school. I went to the legendary Westinghouse High School, which has produced jazz greats like Errol Garner, Ahmad Jamal. They were my predecessors. Seeing that kind of excellence, that’s all I wanted to do. I couldn’t imagine being that good, but if I could only capture a bit of that excellence, it would be worth a whole lifetime of trying.” Point made.

Harrison has been a player in the Pittsburgh jazz scene since the late 50’s, when he began doing gigs at the renowned jazz club, Crawford Grill no.2 in the Hill District. Since then, this multi-tasking composer, arranger and soloist has played with Kenny Clarke, Billy Eckstine and Earl “Fatha” Hines, Jay McShann, Slide Hampton, and with the Count Basie Orchestra (1978-81). He has recorded with Walt Harper, Nathan Davis and Count Basie, and was co-leader of jazz groups featuring singer Andy Bey and drummer Joe Harris.

Harrison’s topics ranged far and wide in this, his first class–some jazz musical theory; the almost unbridgeable difference between classically trained and jazz musicians; the striking similarity between learning to play jazz and learning a martial art; the role of ethnicity and culture in jazz; the troubling story of conflict between the Pittsburgh white and black musicians unions–and lots more.

There is eloquent imagery in his description of what it means to play jazz: “In jazz, you risk your life on every note you play. You play the wrong note, you got to fix it. You got to fix it forward–you can’t fix it backwards. And you have to communicate. You have to make that note say everything that you want it to say. You have to know what everybody else in the band knows, and what they’re supposed to be doing, too, and that’s not what they were supposed to be doing yesterday. It’s what they’re supposed to be doing in the moment. That’s a heck of a challenge. It has a direct effect on the audience, and on the players.” Make no mistake: Harrison is an articulate communicator on the jazz life that is at the very core of his being.

In upcoming classes we’ll be listening to and discussing jazz created by the Pittsburgh masters, and, we hope, hearing more of Dr. Harrison’s riveting anecdotes about his experiences as witness to some of the seminal events in the city’s jazz history.

Len Z