Harrison Bankhead
{{Short description|American jazz musician (1955–2023)}}{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Harrison Bankhead
| birth_name = Harrison Napoleon Bankhead III
| birth_date = {{birth date|1955|03|01}}
| birth_place = Waukegan, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|04|05|1955|03|01}}
| death_place =
| genre = Jazz
| instrument = Double bass
}}
Harrison Napoleon Bankhead III{{Cite web |title=Harrison Bankhead Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/harrison-bankhead-mn0000381865/biography |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=AllMusic |language=en}} (March 1, 1955 – April 5, 2023) was an American jazz double-bassist.
Life and career
Bankhead became associated with the Chicago jazz scene in the early-1980s.Piotr Michalowski, [http://annarborobserver.com/articles/the_harrison_bankhead_quartet_full_article.html Bass Is The Place] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215060307/https://annarborobserver.com/articles/the_harrison_bankhead_quartet_full_article.html |date=2019-12-15 }}. Ann Arbor Observer, October 2014. Early in his career, he performed with Fred Anderson on tour and at Anderson's Chicago club, the Velvet Lounge.Lyn Horton, [https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/harrison-bankhead-sextet-morning-sunharvest-moon/ Review of Morning Sun/Harvest Moon]. JazzTimes, August 9, 2011. Bankhead has worked with Oliver Lake, Roscoe Mitchell, Von Freeman, Malachi Thompson, 8 Bold Souls, and Hamid Drake, and was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. His first album as a leader, Morning Sun/Harvest Moon, was released on Engine, a sub-label of ESP-Disk, in 2011, and featured sidemen Edward Wilkerson, Jr., Mars Williams, James Sanders, Avreeayl Ra, and Ernie Adams.Peter Margasak, [http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/harrison-bankhead-canadian-girlfriends-my-canadian-girlfriend-kid-sister-everything-animal-lover/Content?oid=4331702 Three Beats: Bassist Harrison Bankhead finally releases an album of his own]. Chicago Reader, July 28, 2011. He followed this with Velvet Blue, with Wilkerson, Williams, and Ra, whose name and title track pay tribute to Fred Anderson and the Velvet Lounge.Peter Margasak, [http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2014/01/24/bassist-harrison-bankhead-back-in-front Bassist Harrison Bankhead, back in front]. Chicago Reader, January 24, 2014.
Bankhead died on April 5, 2023, at the age of 68.{{cite web |title=Harrison Napoleon Bankhead III |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/harrison-bankhead-obituary?id=51651222 |website=Legacy |access-date=16 April 2023}}{{cite web |title=Harrison Napoleon Bankhead, III |url=https://www.bradshaw-range.com/obituary/harrison-bankhead-iii |website=Bradshaw & Range Funeral Home PC |access-date=16 April 2023}}
Discography
As leader
- Morning Sun/Harvest Moon (Engine Studios, 2011)
- Velvet Blue (Engine Studios, 2013)
- The Fire of Compassion (Engine Studios, 2014)
With Malachi Thompson
- The Jaz Life (Delmark, 1992)
- Lift Every Voice (Delmark, 1993)
- Buddy Bolden's Rag (Delmark, 1995)
- 47th Street (Delmark, 1997)
- Freebop Now! (Delmark, 1998)
- Rising Daystar (Delmark, 1999)
- Talking Horns (Delmark, 2001) with Hamiet Bluiett and Oliver Lake
- Blue Jazz (Delmark, 2003) with Gary Bartz and Billy Harper
With 8 Bold Souls
- Sideshow (Arabesque Jazz, 1992)
- Ant Farm (Arabesque Jazz, 1994)
- Last Option (Thrill Jockey, 2000)
With Dee Alexander
- Wild is the Wind (BluJazz, 2009)
- Songs My Mother Loves (BluJazz, 2014)
With others
- Frequency (Edward Wilkerson, Nicole Mitchell, Harrison Bankhead, and Avreeayl Ra) - Frequency (Thrill Jockey, 2006)
- Fred Anderson/Harrison Bankhead - The Great Vision Concert (Ayler Records, 2007)
- Nicole Mitchell, Harrison Bankhead, Hamid Drake - Indigo Trio: Live in Montreal (2007)
- The Turbine! (Harrison Bankhead, Benjamin Duboc, Hamid Drake, Ramon Lopez) - Entropy/Enthalpy (RogueArt, 2015)
- Shanta Nurullah's Sitarsys, Sitar Black (Storywiz, 2016)
References
{{reflist}}
{{8 Bold Souls}}
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Category:American jazz double-bassists
Category:American male double-bassists
Category:Jazz musicians from Illinois
Category:American male jazz musicians