Joe Harriott
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Joe Harriott (1928-1973)
A Jamaican saxophonist and pioneer of freeform Jazz.
Harriott was one of many Caribbean jazz musicians who moved to the UK in the 1950s (Dizzy Reece, Harold McNair, Harry Beckett and Wilton Gaynair.)
He was influenced by Charlie Parker and mento and calypso music and his free-form music is often compared to American musician Ornette Coleman.
Harriott collaborated with many artists during his career, including Indo-Jazz Fusion in the last 1960s with Indian violinist John Mayer.
The epitaph on his gravestone reads: "Parker? There's them over here can play a few aces too.”
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