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One of the most exciting and distinctive instrumentalists to emerge on the
international jazz scene over the past two decades, Harrell is a highly lyrical,
dazzlingly fluent improviser who combines the power of Clifford Brown with
the lyricism of Chet Baker.
In 1996, Tom Harrell won the prestigious Down Beat International Critics Poll
as the top trumpeter in jazz, an honor placing him in the limelight alongside a
pack of younger and more visible players including Wynton Marsalis, Roy
Hargrove and Nicholas Payton. The 53-year-old artist has achieved recognition
from critics and fans alike despite suffering from schizophrenia, and has managed
to fight courageously and relatively successfully against this illness by
taking strong medication to keep his condition at bay. While this causes him to
display a withdrawn, inwardly focused, detached appearance in public, he comes alive when he puts his
horn to his lips and becomes deeply engrossed in his music.
Grammy Award-winning producer Bob Belden, who produced the Time’s Mirror sessions, calls Harrell
“one of the most beautiful and sensitive trumpet and flugelhorn players in jazz, period”.
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