Billy Harper

Billy Harper (born January 17, 1943, in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz saxophonist, "one of a generation of Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists" with a distinctively stern, hard-as-nails sound on his instrument.

In 1965 Harper earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Texas.

Harper has played with some of jazz's greatest drummers; he served with Art Blakey's Messengers for two years (1968–70); he played very briefly with Elvin Jones (1970), he played with the Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra in the 1970s, and was a member of Max Roach's band in the late 1970s. He has also been a frequent member of Randy Weston's ensembles, and in 2013 they recorded their first album as a duo, entitled The Roots of the Blues. Harper performed on Gil Evans' 1973 album Svengali, and contributed two of the most-performed tunes in the band's repertoire: "Priestess" and "Thoroughbred".

Harper's 1973 album Capra Black "remains one of the seminal recordings of jazz's black consciousness movement--a profoundly spiritual effort that channels both the intellectual complexity of the avant garde as well as the emotional potency of gospel". The Italian jazz label Black Saint was launched with Harper's 1975 album Black Saint. His later releases have mostly been on SteepleChase and Evidence.

As leader/co-leader

• 1973: Capra Black (Strata-East)
• 1974: Jon & Billy (Trio) – with Jon Faddis
• 1975: Black Saint (Billy Harper Quintet On Tour In Europe '75) (Black Saint)
• 1977: Love on the Sudan (Denon)
• 1977: Soran-Bushi, B.H. (Denon)
• 1978: Knowledge of Self (Denon)
• 1979: Billy Harper Quintet in Europe (Soul Note)
• 1979: The Awakening (Marge)
• 1979: Trying to Make Heaven My Home (Saba/MPS)
• 1980: The Believer (Baystate/RVC)
• 1980: Billy Harper Quintet [live] (PolJazz)
• 1989: Destiny Is Yours (Steeplechase)
• 1991: Live on Tour in the Far East (Steeplechase)
• 1991: Live on Tour in the Far East Vol. 2 (Steeplechase)
• 1991: Live on Tour in the Far East Vol. 3 (Steeplechase)
• 1993: Somalia (Evidence)
• 1997: If Our Hearts Could Only See (DIW)
• 1999: Soul of an Angel (Metropolitan)
• 2006: Blueprints of Jazz Vol. 2 (Talking House)
• 2013: The Roots of the Blues (Sunnyside) – with Randy Weston

With The Cookers

• Warriors (Jazz Legacy Productions, 2010)
• Cast The First Stone (Plus Loin Music/Harmonia Mundi, 2011)
• Believe (Motéma Music, 2012)
• Time And Time Again (Motéma Music, 2014)
• The Call Of The Wild And Peaceful Heart [live] (Smoke Sessions, 2016)

As sideman

With Art Blakey

• Live! Vol. 1 (Everest, 1968)
• Moanin' (LRC, 1968)

With Stanley Cowell

• Such Great Friends (Strata-East, 1983)

With Charles Earland

• Intensity (Prestige, 1972)
• Charles III (Prestige, 1973)

With Gil Evans

• Blues in Orbit (Enja, 1969–71)
• Where Flamingos Fly (Artists House, 1971)
• Svengali (Atlantic, 1973)
• The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix (RCA, 1974)
• There Comes a Time (RCA, 1975)

With Sonny Fortune

• Great Friends (Black & Blue, 1986)

With Bobbi Humphrey

• Flute In (Blue Note, 1971)

With The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra

• Consummation (Blue Note, 1970)
• Potpourri (Philadelphia International, 1974)
• Suite for Pops (Horizon/A&M, 1975)

With Mark Masters Jazz Orchestra

• Priestess (Capri, 1990) – with Jimmy Knepper

With Grachan Moncur III

• Explorations (Capri, 2004)

With Lee Morgan

• We Remember You (Fresh Sound, 1972)
• The Last Session (Blue Note, 1972)

With Max Roach

• Lift Every Voice and Sing (Atlantic, 1971)
• Live in Tokyo Vol. 1 (Denon, 1977)
• Live in Tokyo Vol. 2 (Denon, 1977)
• The Loadstar (Horo, 1977)
• Live in Amsterdam (Baystate/RVC, 1977)
• Confirmation (Fluid, 1978)

With Woody Shaw

• Love Dance (Muse, 1975)

With Malachi Thompson

• 47th Street (Delmark, 1996)
• Freebop Now! (Delmark, 1998)
• Blue Jazz (Delmark, 2003) – with Gary Bartz

With Charles Tolliver

• With Love (Mosaic/Blue Note, 2006)
• Emperor March: Live at the Blue Note (Half Note, 2008)

With McCoy Tyner

• Journey (Birdology, 1993)

With Randy Weston

• Tanjah (Polydor, 1973)
• Carnival (Freedom, 1974)
• The Spirits of Our Ancestors (Antilles/Verve, 1991)
• Saga (Verve, 1995)
• The Roots of the Blues (Sunnyside, 2013)