Craig Harris

The latest project by the trombone master Craig Harris brings together a fine selection of American jazz players with the master musicians of Turkey. This is a group that plays world music with a stong emphasis on jazz and its derivatives.

Craig Harris has been called "one of the most complete trombonist in music today, and without question one of the finest younger composers." Innovation and artistic experimentation are his trademarks. His creative success springs from a disciplined background that includes study with contemporary greats such as Sun Ra, Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray and Charlie Haden. Craig has wisely assembled a core band of musical free-thinkers, players like Al McDowell, Kelvyn Bell and Tony Lewis, who have spent their careers scoffing at musical boundaries.

The clarinet virtuoso Barbaros Erk belongs to the family group the Erk Brothers. Their unique repertory of gypsy music, which includes not only the musical traditions of Turkey but also the Balkans, the Near East and Azerbeidjan, has brought them international fame. Barbaros Erk is also pursuing his own solo career and touring the world for multi-cultural projects.

Nation of Imagination travels over so much musical terrain that it's almost mind-blowing. Calling it "jazz" makes sense, of course, but by the time this tour is over we've heard gypsy music, soul, rap, reggae, folk music, you name it. You've never heard anything like this before, and that statement in 1998 is so rare that it would be worth something even if the music herein wasn't so damned good. —Courtesy Calabash Music