Press
Harper’s authority has only grown with age: a half-century on, he stands as one of the most commanding horn men on the planet, a pillar of stirring post-bop jazz whose robust back catalog seems long overdue for rediscovery.
– The New York Times
A luminary figure in post-bop
–The New York Times
He is a soul of sensitivity and intelligence, as well as of explosive, majestic passion.
– San Francisco Chronicle
The soulfulness, joy, and mourning one can hear in his solos come as much from doxology as the prominent artists he has worked with during his career. The connection to the gospel music of his youth continues to guide his music…
– PostGenre
Harper's creative statements demand attention.
– All About Jazz
Billy Harper is the Black Saint. A tenor with grace and elegance in his personality to match his fire and brimstone on the bandstand, Harper possesses all the intensity of Coltrane, yet has a gentle easiness about him.”
– Jazz Weekly
That Billy Harper's tenor saxophone is one of the most distinctive voices in modern jazz is a given.[…] The music… has religious or spiritual subtexts but not at the expense at the power and glory of what is essentially a style that only Harper possesses: literate, majestic, swelling, heavy, expansive and extensive, slightly on the edge, swinging, and always thoroughly visceral.
– AllMusic
Harper… is one of the most captivating improvisers in jazz.
– Los Angeles Times
A charismatic presence onstage, dressed entirely in black leather, Harper calls his listeners to attention. His improvisations are torrential, dance-like and swinging, spiraling upward to mountaintop pronouncements that can leave listeners in a sweat.
– The New York Times
No one composes like Billy Harper. His tunes are noble, soulful and questing.
– The New York Times
