The Rhythmic Pitch: The Wheel – Joel Harrison

Joel Harrison’s CD, The Wheel, is a melange of philosophy and intriguing music.  According to Harrison, he “wanted to assemble a body of work that contained the intimacy, complexity, and beauty of acoustic concert music and merge it with the raw, grooving spontaneity of jazz.”  I’m going to say he accomplished that; it seems to me that the piece leans more towards the classical, acoustic concert music than jazz.  Whichever you prefer, it’s an outstanding composition.

By August of this year, there had been 3 performances of this piece live; however, he lamented that there were no more than 20 attending the shows.  Despite the very positive response of those attending, Harrison fears for the future of the piece.  Hopefully, more people will respond well to The Wheel and he’ll find more places to book concerts, because this music is worthy of an audience.  It’s engaging.  You can hear more about Harrison and The Wheel here at the Jazz Session.

The music oscillates between somber and lively, so it keeps your attention.  The song titles are evocative of political tumult, so that keeps your attention, too.  However, Harrison doesn’t intentionally write these politcal themes.  He says he sees his meaning after writing the piece.  His initial focus, then, is the music.  Interpretation can be left up to the listener.  Here are a couple of things he noted about his songs in a recent interview.  It gives you an idea of what the philosophy of the record is like.

• “American Farewell” – This is the first “movement” and it’s melody recurs through the track.  Harrison describes it as two friends parting or America departing as world power.
• “We Have Been the Victims of a Broken Promise” – The title is taken from an essay by Martin Luther King, Jr., and Harrison says it could mean many things.  He feels America has lost its ability to be a leader and it also relates to some personal tragedies in the artists life.

Harrison’s music is shaped by the styles of music he appreciates; these include jazz, of course, and contemporary classical.  However, much more interesting is the African and Indian influences on his songs, not to mention blues and even Appalachian – which, I’m sorry, is very disturbing.  I thought I was having a nightmare when I heard echoes of banjo in some of these songs, but no, it’s true.  The echoes are there.

Despite that, it’s an exceptionally intelligent composition, with a focus on improvisation.   So, it feels masterfully structured yet alive and buoyant.  It will take some time to fully absorb the CD, but it is worth the effort.