Enter the mind of drummer and composer Eric Harland, who explains how his approach to the drum set is rooted in getting out of his own way, being reactive, and allowing himself to be a “blank slate” - letting inspiration guide him without preconceived thoughts or ideas.
One of the most celebrated drummers in jazz, GRAMMY nominee Eric Harland has performed extensively with legends Betty Carter, Joe Henderson, and McCoy Tyner, and has appeared on over 200 recordings with masters including Terence Blanchard, Greg Osby, Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain, Joshua Redman, and countless others. He has regularly been included in the short list of top drummers in DownBeat’s Readers Poll, in the company of masters like Roy Haynes and the late Elvin Jones.
The Houston native claimed DownBeat's top spot in the Rising Star Drummer category of the Annual Critics Poll for three consecutive years, and he performed and recorded with the SFJAZZ Collective from 2005 through 2012. His debut recording as a leader, 2011’s Voyager, Live by Night, highlights Harland’s formidable compositional abilities as well as his peerless drumming, and his newest album with Voyager, Vipassana, is his most audacious project yet. Harland was an SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 Seasons.
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***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.