Billy Harper is one of a generation of tenor saxophonists who came up listening to John Coltrane but, crucially, managed to build upon his work rather than just imitating it.
Born in 1943, Harper grew up in Houston, Texas, singing in church and performing at choral events. At eleven he was given a saxophone for Christmas and, with a little help from his uncle, a former trumpeter who had been in school with Kenny Dorham, taught himself to play.
Harper began playing in bands and, aged 14, formed a quartet. He went on to study jazz at North Texas State University and played with its renowned One O'Clock Lab Band - the only African American doing so at the time.
In 1966 Harper made the move to New York and that same year led an ensemble that appeared on the NBC special 'The Big Apple'. It didn't take long for Harper to begin playing with well-known band leaders and in 1967 he began a long-running association with Gil Evans. Over the years that followed Harper played with some of the great jazz drummers, performing with the likes of Blakey's Messengers, Max Roach's band, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band and (briefly) Elvin Jones.
In the meantime Harper began recording under his own name for labels based in Europe. His 'Black Saint' LP, released in 1975, was the first record released by the label of the same name and 'In Europe' (1979) launched the Soul Note label.
Through the '80s and '90s Harper recorded relatively little but continued to perform regularly, usually as a band leader. He also taught music at Livingston College and Rutgers.
Harper, best known to New York jazz insiders, became an unlikely focus of international attention when he had a short but important role in the critically-acclaimed jazz film 'I Called Him Morgan' (2016).
