Harrison Bankhead

American jazz musician (1955–2023)

Harrison Bankhead

Birth name| Harrison Napoleon Bankhead III
Born| (1955-03-01)March 1, 1955
Waukegan, Illinois, U.S.
Died| April 5, 2023(2023-04-05) (aged 68)
Genres| Jazz
Instrument| Double bass

Musical artist

Harrison Napoleon Bankhead III[1] (March 1, 1955 – April 5, 2023) was an American jazz double-bassist.

## Life and career

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Bankhead became associated with the Chicago jazz scene in the early-1980s.[2] Early in his career, he performed with Fred Anderson on tour and at Anderson's Chicago club, the Velvet Lounge.[3] Bankhead has worked with Oliver Lake, Roscoe Mitchell, Von Freeman, Malachi Thompson, 8 Bold Souls, and Hamid Drake, and was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. His first album as a leader, Morning Sun/Harvest Moon, was released on Engine, a sub-label of ESP-Disk, in 2011, and featured sidemen Edward Wilkerson, Jr., Mars Williams, James Sanders, Avreeayl Ra, and Ernie Adams.[4] He followed this with Velvet Blue, with Wilkerson, Williams, and Ra, whose name and title track pay tribute to Fred Anderson and the Velvet Lounge.[5]

Bankhead died on April 5, 2023, at the age of 68.[6][7]

## Discography

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As leader

* Morning Sun/Harvest Moon (Engine Studios, 2011)
* Velvet Blue (Engine Studios, 2013)
* The Fire of Compassion (Engine Studios, 2014)

With Malachi Thompson

* The Jaz Life (Delmark, 1992)
* Lift Every Voice (Delmark, 1993)
* Buddy Bolden's Rag (Delmark, 1995)
* 47th Street (Delmark, 1997)
* Freebop Now! (Delmark, 1998)
* Rising Daystar (Delmark, 1999)
* Talking Horns (Delmark, 2001) with Hamiet Bluiett and Oliver Lake
* Blue Jazz (Delmark, 2003) with Gary Bartz and Billy Harper

With 8 Bold Souls

* Sideshow (Arabesque Jazz, 1992)
* Ant Farm (Arabesque Jazz, 1994)
* Last Option (Thrill Jockey, 2000)

With Dee Alexander

* Wild is the Wind (BluJazz, 2009)
* Songs My Mother Loves (BluJazz, 2014)

With others

* Frequency (Edward Wilkerson, Nicole Mitchell, Harrison Bankhead, and Avreeayl Ra) - Frequency (Thrill Jockey, 2006)
* Fred Anderson/Harrison Bankhead - The Great Vision Concert (Ayler Records, 2007)
* Nicole Mitchell, Harrison Bankhead, Hamid Drake - Indigo Trio: Live in Montreal (2007)
* The Turbine! (Harrison Bankhead, Benjamin Duboc, Hamid Drake, Ramon Lopez) - Entropy/Enthalpy (RogueArt, 2015)
* Shanta Nurullah's Sitarsys, Sitar Black (Storywiz, 2016)

## References

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1. ^ "Harrison Bankhead Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
2. ^ Piotr Michalowski, Bass Is The Place Archived 2019-12-15 at the Wayback Machine. Ann Arbor Observer, October 2014.
3. ^ Lyn Horton, Review of Morning Sun/Harvest Moon. JazzTimes, August 9, 2011.
4. ^ Peter Margasak, Three Beats: Bassist Harrison Bankhead finally releases an album of his own. Chicago Reader, July 28, 2011.
5. ^ Peter Margasak, Bassist Harrison Bankhead, back in front. Chicago Reader, January 24, 2014.
6. ^ "Harrison Napoleon Bankhead III". Legacy. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
7. ^ "Harrison Napoleon Bankhead, III". Bradshaw & Range Funeral Home PC. Retrieved 16 April 2023.

* v
* t
* e

8 Bold Souls

* Edward Wilkerson

* Mwata Bowden
* Harrison Bankhead
* Steve McCall

Albums|

* 8 Bold Souls (1987)
* Sideshow (1992)
* Ant Farm (1994)
* Last Option (2000)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* 2

National|

* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Norway

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* IdRef

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