(WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Retired Chicago musician Bill Harrison, with over four decades of dedication to the institution of Jazz, has released a book about his road to success.
From his roots on the East Coast to sharpening his bass playing skills in Chicago to hitting the road, playing in venues, large and obscure, to sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in Jazz music, Harrison has stories.
He introduces you to “Making the Low Notes: A Life in Music.”
“Everyone’s got stories. The rule of writing non-fiction is, the more specific you can be about your own story, the more universal it will become,” Harrison says.
In his book, Harrison reflects on his wild journey as a Jazz musician.
“It was a thrill, mostly…I loved getting a chance to play with James Woody. It was just for a week, but that guy was really a great influence…Getting to go to the Montreal Jazz Festival with [the] great alto player Bunky Green, really a creative guy, very open minded,” Harrison recalls. “[There] was a gig I played with Dizzy Gillespie, which I hope I didn’t speed up his death…I was such a bonehead on that particular gig.”
Harrison also has advice for young musicians.
“With Jazz, you try to find some way to express yourself in the moment. When you’re on the bandstand or making a recording, you have to take chances, and sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don’t,” he says.
Bill Harrison also has theatrical credits in “Wicked,” “The Lion King,” “Always…Patsy Cline,” “Bounce,” “Turn of the Century” and “Billy Elliot.”
“Making the Low Notes: A Life in Music” is available at bookshop.org.
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