Harvie S Group
(US)
afro-cuban jazz with funk & ethnic influences
Jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms have been combined many times, but rarely as creatively and cliché-freely as American bass player Harvie S does. He spices up the heady stew with funk, Brazilian rhythms and hints of other world musics.
Harvie S(wartz), who one day got tired of the eternal misspelling of his name, is known as a very productive composer. His compositions appear on over 80 albums. In the 70’s he worked with pianist Steve Kuhn and tenorist Stan Getz and in the Double Image Band that recorded for ECM and Enja. Since the dawn of the 80’s he has done 8 albums as a leader. Critics agree that the two latest releases (Texas Rhumba and Funky Cha) are some of the freshest jazz/Afro-Cuban synthesis that anybody has heard. Harvie’s credits are top notch. He has worked with most of both jazz and Latin heavies, like Chet Baker, Gil Evans, Lee Konitz, Paquito D’Rivera, Ray Barretto and Arturo O’Farrill. His chops have been tested on several hundred albums(!). For instance on records by James Brown, Chick Corea and the Latin Soul Brothers.