Joel Harrison’s End Time Quintet

On Harbor, Joel Harrison’s latest effort, it’s evident that the guitarist’s compositional scope reaches as wide as his technical prowess. He takes a song and turns it into a journey, changing moods and vibes as he leads the listener on cross-continent treks from India to Africa to Asia, incorporating hints of jazz along the way. Much of the album has a cinematic quality, which makes complete sense considering that Harrison has done a fair amount of film scoring. On this outing, he also enlists the adventurous French/Vietnamese guitarist Nguyên Lê and saxophonist David Binney, who both add a good deal of intensity. For this pair of Colorado shows, Harrison and his quintet (which includes Binney and local pianist Art Lande) will also delve into his inventive arrangements of George Harrison songs that he recorded on his 2005 release Harrison on Harrison.