This October, UMR and Decca Records are making Jamaican/British jazz saxophonist Joe Harriott’s album Movement available for the first time since it was released in 1963. The release comes as part of UMR’s Black Story initiative, which seeks to celebrate the culture, the scenes, the sounds, and the artists that shaped Black UK music.
The new edition was mastered at Abbey Road using high definition 24bit/192kHz audio files, copied directly from the original stereo analogue master tapes. Images of those tapes are included in the package alongside new sleeve notes written by noted author, compiler, and documentary maker Tony Higgins, who also acts as Executive Producer for Decca’s ‘British Jazz Explosion’ series.
Long sought after by collectors and connoisseurs, original copies of Movement now sell for upwards of £1,000. Recorded in 1963, the album was released as part of the Lansdowne Series, a project overseen by Denis Preston, one of the U.K.’s first independent record producers, and engineered by Adrian Kerridge. Of the album’s nine tracks, seven are Harriott originals, whilst the other two were written by another pioneer of British Jazz, Michael Garrick. Playing alongside Joe was bassist Coleridge Goode, drummer Bobby Orr, pianist Pat Smythe, and trumpet/flugelhorn player Ellsworth ‘Shake’ Keane.
Born in Jamaica in 1928, Joseph Arthurlin Harriott arrived in Britain in the early ’50s, initially touring with the Ozzie Da Costa Band. By the ’60s Joe had developed his unique approach to jazz, as seen on records like 1960’s Free Form, 1963’s Abstract, and Movement, released that same year.
The Black Story series will see the release of iconic albums from a selection of significant and culturally important artists on vinyl – some for the first time. The initiative aims to tell the stories of these iconic artists that shaped the landscape in a seismic way in their own time, and to communicate their importance to younger generations that may not be aware. A collection of releases to celebrate the artists who walked and broke through the system, so that the current UK superstars could run. Read more about the Black Story initiative here.
Check out all the Black Story releases here.