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| January 2, 2006
Happy New Year! Akemashita omedetou gozaimasu! It's been a while since my last entry - sorry! So many wonderful things happened this past year (since the last entry in June): great trip to Japan in June; the start of the new rock musical of Dorian Gray; the new studio and projects at KMA now in the Brill Building overlooking Times Square; a good run of Friday night shows with Miki Howard; many fun gigs with Talkin' The Talk Trio; lots of gigs on the boat with Kyleanne & Co.; writing and recording with Wendy Starland; recording with Kayoko; a bunch of rockin' shows with Chad Hollister; a fun outing with Spank in Newport, RI; many more shows on Broadway with Lion King; more appearances with Debbie Friedman; some shows and recordings with Chip Wilson; shows and recordings with Reverend Nathan Brady Crain (both PG and R rated...); and the best for last: the birth of my new BAND! Come see the show:
Very best regards to you all, Sean.
June 21, 2005 Happy Summer Solstice! I just got back form Japan and some great shows over there. There were solo shows, a night with Al DiMarco, one with Kazu Minamizawa, a show and 3 days in the studio with Casey Rankin, an afternoon show with Lu7, and many great visits with freinds. Since I got home last week I've done a couple shows with my old 'rent band' Funkestra, a night on Lion King, a night at Coda with Sax'Mo, a Monday Night session with KMA, and a jam session at the Cutting Room. This past weekend was a wonderful event, though, in Westminster, MD, with the ASIA Symposium. (Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans) I had a concert slot on Saturday night at the end of their week long event that was just a super show - great vibe in the audience, a beautiful room, and fantastic sound. Thanks to all! (especially Rick Davis!) I played the new Walden steel string, the new L Benito nylon string, and my trusty Fender SubSonic baritone electric. I want to do one of those every week! Coming up are more Sax'Mo shows at Coda - we will be moving to Tuesday nights starting in July. There the band plays a mix of R&B, Jazz, Funk, Reggae, Twisted up Pop tunes - I switch hit with the ArchTop and the Strat. Big fun! Come on out! Our saxman, Eric Behrends, just did a recording for Hiram Bullock alongside the Brecker Brothers on trax by Omar Hakim and Will Lee. Hiram came to our show to scout him out - it worked! Congrats to Eric. This Friday is a show at Orbit in East Harlem with Gary Corwin and the Dream Band - we really get to groove on this show. Patrick Pfeiffer and Mike D'Agostino lay down the groove and Brian Sears and I layer the yumminess on top of that... Thanks for tuning in, may the summer find you all with big smiles! (As always, feel free to comment)
March 25, 2005 First entry since August... So much has happened! The coolest gig for me has to be subbing on Disney's Lion King on Broadway. I started that back in November and it's been a wonderful challenge. Also right up there are two new guitar companies that I'm working with as an Artist Endorser, both of which are fine acoustic instrument makers. Walden Guitars has made me a guitar to my specs that I really like, and we will be doing some promotion around that soon. Also, the Chilean Guitar Maker Lito Benito sent me down to New Orleans in February to launch their new American distribution. I'll be going back during Jazz Fest in N'Awlins to do another show with Chip Wilson, my long time friend who is a fantastic guitarist and a builder himself. While in New Orleans, I got to jam with these two guys from Chile that absolutely knocked me out: Emelio Garcia and Antonio Restucci. We will be doing things together in the future... Susan Egan has brought me on a few shows which is a huge honor as well as a complete blast. She's the real thing! Also while in LA for her CD release I got to reunite with my old friend Chris Roberts who is now a Sound Engineer and Road Manager for folks the likes of Chris Botti. Our Monday Night Club over at KMA has taken some interesting turns, most notably a couple of performances - we had a night at the Cutting Room, and one coming up at Coda - and the occasional presence of a true star, Ms. Miki Howard. Wow. Also coming up at Club Coda I'll be playing every Wednesday night with alto saxman Eric Behrends and a kickin' band. Eric is a serious up-and-coming talent on the smooth jazz scene, and we surround him with a band that kicks major butt. (Helps to balance the smoothness.) One day at 3:00 pm I got a call to do a 7:00 pm clinic playing bass with the ROCKIN' drummer Jerry Gaskill of King's X. Not only does he completely rock, but he's a totally great guy to be around. That's a day I'll always remember. We're working on new tracks for Elin's forthcoming CD which will fuse some Brasilian, some jazz, and some contemporary elements to make her own beautifully signature sound. Playing in Patrick Pfeiffer's band Phoenix at the Cutting Room was both a challenge and a ball. Patrick and I also play with the Jeremiah Long Band at selected public appearances, with a forthcoming recording in the works for mid April. The night at the Iridium Room with Ellen O'Brian was a treat, only to discover that not only was Pat Martino up next but he was watching. Hmmm. Then it was off to Vermont for more shows with old friends up there; Lar Duggan, Nathan Brady Crane. Had a great show at the Community Theatre of Morristown, NJ with Liz Story and Samite back in January. Also I am working with Liz now on compositions for her upcoming CD which we'll be tracking in a few weeks in California. Started working in a really fun band with my friend Patrick Pfeiffer on bass (actually 5 bands with him now...) called Gary Corwin and the Dream Band. We play once a month at Orbit up in Harlem. As usual, I always love performing and traveling with Debbie Friedman. We had a bunch of shows in December and a few coming up in May. I'm actually a substitute for Alex Skolnick in that band, but he has some wonderful things happening in his career which opens the door for me. The lovely Kayoko has been tracking here in New York for her next Japanese release and I've had the honor of playing on a bunch of songs for that. Had a few shows with Chad Hollister who's actually in town this very night at Kenny's Castaways. Kyleanne Burtt and her group are starting a new season on the Bateaux New York, which I always enjoy to be a part of. In May it's back to Japan for some family stuff (!) and some more promotion for the Urakaji CD. This time I will be presenting my new stable of amazing artists that I've encountered along the way to some Japanese companies who are interested in promotion and distribution. Could be the way of the future for Sean Harkness Music... My best regards to you all, thanks for reading along, and please send me your thoughts, reactions, stories, criticisms, praises, arguments, silly links, ideas, poems, and pictures of your pet fish. Cheers! -Sean
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Reviews: “This guy flies on those
acoustic-guitar strings. Cleanly
articulated lines and technical mastery are just the beginning… he expresses
power and passion with soft touch and meaningful glances… heart stopping!”
- Jazziz Magazine “Light as a breeze, the gentle airs
and perky melodies propelled by acoustic guitars… sprightly arrangements that
bounce and lift moods… others that stir the autumn leaves into a colorful
melancholy sort of place. You will
never be out of touch with the fingerstyle guitar as the definer of all the
melodies and the one that sets the sails for the winds to catch on”.
– New Age Voice “His fleet-fingered, spindly acoustic
style… draws form a variety of world beat influences… Harkness delivers
rootsy, upbeat melodies. His
versatility allows for both fluid, deep-toned romanticism and sharply cornered
percussive licks – yet resonates with a unified message of freedom”. – Jazz Times “He makes his instrumental debut – featuring a variety of influences, including Latin, Classical, Jazz and Celtic music” - Billboard I... bought "Trio Of One". I have to tell you that I had my doubts (because I associate folks who record on Windham Hill with New Age, and that is not my kind of music 99% of the time). But your music isn't New Age-y, it's just terrific. I'm enjoying "Trio of One" tremendously. Whether acoustic or electric, you do fine work. - Elizabeth Templeton (customer) "Why don't you get people this good to play here at NIGHT?!"
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