Corey Harris Biography
Corey Harris has earned substantial critical acclaim as
one of the few contemporary bluesmen able to channel the
raw, direct emotion of acoustic Delta blues without coming
off as an authenticity-obsessed historian. Although he is
well versed in the early history of blues guitar, he's no
well-mannered preservationist, mixing a considerable variety
of influences -- from New Orleans to the Caribbean to Africa
-- into his richly expressive music. In doing so, he's managed
to appeal to a wide spectrum of blues fans, from staunch
traditionalists to more contemporary sensibilities.
Corey Harris was born in Denver, CO, on February 21, 1969,
and began playing guitar at age 12, when he fell in love
with his mother's Lightnin'
Hopkins records. He played in a rock & roll band
in high school, as well as the marching band, and developed
his singing abilities in church. Through Bates College in
Maine (where he majored in anthropology), Harris traveled
to Cameroon to study African linguistics, and returned there
on a post-graduate fellowship; during his time there, he
soaked up as much African music as possible, entranced by
its complex polyrhythms. After returning to the U.S., Harris
taught English and French in Napoleonville, LA, and during
his spare time he played the clubs, coffeehouses, and street
corners of nearby New Orleans. His local reputation eventually
earned him a deal with Alligator, one of the pre-eminent
blues labels in the South. In 1995, Alligator released Harris'
debut album Between Midnight and Day, a one-man, one-guitar
affair that illustrated his mastery of numerous variations
on the Delta
blues style. The record won rave reviews and even some
mainstream media attention, marking Harris as an exciting
new presence on the blues scene; it also earned him an opening
slot on tour with ex-10,000 Maniacs singer Natalie Merchant.
Harris followed it up with Fish Ain't Bitin' in 1997, a
record that began to expand his style by adding a New Orleans-style
brass section on several tracks, while emphasizing his own
original compositions to a much greater degree. The next
year, Harris was invited to participate in the Billy Bragg/Wilco
collaboration Mermaid Avenue, which set a selection of unfinished
Woody Guthrie songs to music; Harris played guitar and contributed
bluesy backup vocals to several tunes. In 1999, Harris released
what most critics called his strongest work to date, Greens
From the Garden; hailed as a landmark in some quarters,
the record delved deeper into New Orleans funk and R&B,
while recasting its covers in surprising but effective new
contexts (even reggae and hip-hop).
The result was a kaleidoscope of black musical styles that
earned Harris even more widespread attention than his debut.
Veteran pianist Henry Butler appeared on the record, and
for the follow-up, Harris recorded an entire album in tandem
with Butler; issued in 2000, Vu-Du Menz updated several
different strains of early jazz and blues. Harris subsequently
left Alligator for Rounder, and debuted for his new label
in 2002 with Downhome Sophisticate, a typically eclectic
outing that explored his African influences and added Latin
music to his seemingly endless sonic palette. Two more albums
followed on Rounder, the marvelous Mississippi to Mali in
2003 and Daily Bread in 2005. Ever the musical explorer,
Harris turned to Jamaica and roots reggae for the template
on his next album, Zion Crossroads, which was released in
2007 on Telarc Records. Steve Huey, All Music Guide
