Winard Harper

{{short description|American jazz drummer (born 1962)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Winard Harper

| image =

| caption =

| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

| birth_name = Hiram Winard Harper

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|6|4}}

| birth_place =Baltimore, Maryland

| genre = Jazz

| occupation = Musician

| instrument = Drums

| years_active =1980s–present

| label =Savant

| associated_acts =Philip Harper

| website =

}}

Hiram Winard Harper (born June 4, 1962) is an American jazz drummer.

Career

Harper played in the 1980s with Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, and with Betty Carter for four years. While working with Carter he met Wycliffe Gordon, with whom Harper would collaborate repeatedly.{{Cite news|url=https://www.axs.com/interview-with-jazz-drummer-winard-harper-108168|title=Interview with jazz drummer Winard Harper|work=AXS|access-date=2017-12-24}}

From 1988 to 1993 he worked with his brother, trumpeter Philip Harper, in the group The Harper Brothers, alongside Justin Robinson, Javon Jackson, Walter Blanding, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Stephen Scott, Kevin Hays, Michael Bowie, and Nedra Wheeler.{{Cite news| url=http://ejazznews.com/?p=9655|title=Winard Harper Coexist|work=eJazzNews |access-date=2017-12-24}}

After the dissolution of the Harper brothers, Winard recorded several albums as a leader. In the early 2000s he worked with his sextet and performed at Lincoln Center in New York City.{{cite web|last1=Witmer|first1=Rose of Sharon|title=Winard Harper|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/winard-harper-mn0000956583/biography|website=AllMusic|accessdate=13 February 2018}} He played with Avery Sharpe in 2008.Whiteis, David (June 2008). [http://jazztimes.com/articles/18049-legends-amp-mentors-the-music-of-mccoy-tyner-archie-shepp-and-yusef-lateef-avery-sharpe "Jazz Reviews: Legends & Mentors: The Music of McCoy Tyner, Archie Shepp, and Yusef Lateef"], JazzTimes. He leads the group Jeli Posse.{{Cite news|url=https://www.axs.com/interview-with-jazz-drummer-winard-harper-108168|title=Interview with jazz drummer Winard Harper|work=AXS|access-date=2017-12-24}}

Discography

=As leader=

  • Be Yourself (Epicure, 1994)
  • Trap Dancer (Savant, 1998)
  • Winard (Savant, 1999)
  • A Time for the Soul (Savant, 2003)
  • Come into the Light (Savant, 2004)
  • Coexist (Jazz Legacy, 2012)

The Harper Brothers

  • Remembrance Live at the Village Vanguard (Verve, 1990)
  • Artistry (Verve, 1991)
  • You Can Hide Inside the Music (Verve, 1992)

=As sideman=

With Ray Bryant

  • Ray's Tribute to His Jazz Piano Friends (JMI, 1998)
  • North of the Border (Label M, 2001)
  • Godfather (M&I, 2011)

With Betty Carter

  • Look What I Got! (Verve, 1988)
  • Betty Carter (Verve, 1990)
  • Betty Carter's Finest Hour (Verve, 2003)

With Wycliffe Gordon

  • The Gospel Truth (Criss Cross, 2000)
  • The Search (Nagel Heyer, 2007)

With Etta Jones

With David "Fathead" Newman

With Houston Person

With Avery Sharpe

  • Dragon Fly (JKNM, 2004)
  • Legends & Mentors (JKNM, 2008)
  • Autumn Moonlight (JKNM, 2009)
  • Avery Sharpe Trio Live (JKNM, 2010)

With Billy Taylor

  • Urban Griot (Soundpost, 2001)
  • Live at IAJE New York (Soundpost, 2002)
  • Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center (Kennedy Center Jazz, 2005)

With Frank Wess

  • Surprise, Surprise! (Chiaroscuro, 1998)
  • Once Is Not Enough (Labeth, 2009)
  • Magic 101 (IPO, 2013)

With others

References