Leroy Harris

• Born: 190, New Orleans, LA
• Genres: Jazz
• Instrument: Banjo

Biography

There has never been a very famous musician with the name of Leroy Harris, but it easy to get confused and think there might be an obscure player with his name that recorded prolifically, played both traditional jazz and rhythm & blues, and made a complete switch in instrument families a decade or so into their career. However, the reality is that there are at least two, and maybe three, players with recording credits named Leroy Harris, and the one thing they share in common beside the name is relative obscurity. Even the most seemingly complete textbook on jazz history seems to miss both Harris' that have been associated with that genre. The most common error is assuming that the reed player Leroy Harris, who is recognized as one of the elder statesmen of jazz journeymen from the city of St. Louis, was also the banjoist Leroy Harris, who was a member of several different essential '20s jazz bands under the direction of Clarence Williams and King Oliver. From what we know of the St. Louis Harris, however, he would have had to have been about nine years old to have played in these bands at this time. Now, it is true that the banjo player in these groups was basically a timekeeper, and when they got a solo it could come and go in the bat of an eyelash. There are a few well-known banjo players from this era such as Johnny St. Cyr, but for the most part these players languish in obscurity. It is safe to assume, however, if King Oliver had had a nine-year-old banjo player, somebody would have said something about it before now. The groups in question include King Oliver's Dixie Syncopaters, the next band this trumpeter formed following the breakup of his classic Creole Jazz Band. Not much else is known about the Leroy Harris that did play in this group. And although many banjo players of his generation later switched to guitar, there are no recordings of Harris doing so during the '20s New Orleans jazz era of recordings. Thus, there is absolutely no real reason to believe that the Leroy Harris who played guitar on '50s rhythm & blues albums by Tiny Bradshaw and Willie Bryant is the same person. There very well might be a third musician named Leroy Harris, this one a rhythm & blues guitarist. If so, then the question is (for those of us concerned about these sorts of issues), which one is the one who played with Horace Henderson in the '40s? From the sound of playing, it seems like it is this third guy. Time for a film entitled "Oh Leroy, Where Art Thou?" ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide