News

11/10/69 Halloween was epic! (see the photo page for confirmation.) We did the entire house as our version of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (dubbed "Fear and Loathing in Van Nuys"). We've almost got our place back to a semi-normal state.....almost. I've got some fun gigs coming up this week with east coast saxophonist Eric Rasmussen. The quartet will mostly be playing music from Eric's recent Steeplechase release, "School of Tristano" with a few of his original compositions sprinked in. My good friend and bandmate Jamie Rosenn will also be one those gigs (see gig schedule page for all the detes.) The LAJC was featured again, this time in the publication 'Jazziz', in the Fall '09 edition. Here's a link to the article. Go to page 44. http://www.jazziz.com/pageflip/issue/Coltrane_Fall_2009/pageflip.html I'm excited to let you know that JoE-LeSs ShoE will be performing at Juanita's Restaurant and Bar (a new venue for us) in Highland Park on December 10th, so mark those calenders! We'll be playing some of the material off the new CD which is still being mixed and should be ready by the end of February. Well, I guess that's it for now.

8/5/09 Went and saw the new Judd Apatow movie (starring Adam Sandler) "Funny People" over the weekend. That's the movie I did that session for back in February with Larry Goldings and Darek Oles. They used the piece of music we recorded, but unfortunately it's barely audible. The music is in a scene about an hour and forty-five minutes into the film that takes place out on a patio with the main characters enjoying some wine after a meal. Check it out (you're going to have to listen close!). In other headlines, JoE-LeSs shOe finished recording our second CD! It came out beautifully and should (hopefully!) be out by the end of the year. Summer's been great. Some fun gigs, trips to the beach and lots of teaching. Also, last month Joe Bagg, Jamie Rosenn and I switched insturments (that's right, switched insturments!) at our friends Drew and Jenna's Annual Covers Party. We played the Eddie Grant classic from the eighties, "Electric Avenue". I sang and 'played bass'. It was a momentous occasion, needless to say (see photo below). If you want to check out a video of the performance, here's the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWrrVEyxMuI Enjoy!

6/12/09 Breaking news...JoE-LeSs ShOe is going into the studio next week to record our second CD. The ShOe has been rehearsing long and hard and has a whole album's worth of all new, original material to delight and excite your eardrums! I'll keep you posted on the developments. I'm really loolking forward to playing at Spazio this week (6/17) with a fantastic band featuring Larry Koonse, Matt Otto, and Hamilton Price and later on this month, there's another L.A. Jazz Collective "Mini-Fest" (Fri. 6/26 and Sat. 6/27) at Cafe Metropol. I'll be playing with three bands Friday and one on Saturday. For all the details, please check out our website at lajazzcollective.com We're treating this festival as sort of a going away party for my good friend and musical comrade, Matt Otto, who is moving to Kansas City, Missouri. :( He will be sorely missed, but has promised to come back to L.A. as often as possible. He better. We need him.....

4/1/09 I finally got around to re-vamping the website! I'm excited about finally getting it done and have added a bunch of videos and other goodies. Take a look around and be sure to pick up a copy of the new 3-ish CD while your here! Also, there are some great gigs happening this month including the Los Angeles Jazz Collective's Spring Festival at the Pasadena Jazz Institute on Aprill 17 and 18, and the world premier performance of a brand new group, "Sigmund Fudge" featuring Joe Bagg, Jamie Rosenn, Ryan McGillicuddy and myself, at the Baked Potato on April 19. Click on 'gig schedule' (at left) for all the details on what's happening. Have a great month.

2/13/09 I did a recording session earlier in the week with Larry Goldings and Darek Oles for the soon to be released Judd Apatow film "Funny People", starring Adam Sandler. We recorded three of Larry's original compositions, one of which will be featured in the film. Each take we did had to be nine minutes in length (!) to accompany the specific scene. We recorded at Bill Schnee studios in beautiful Studio City, CA. It was an absolute blast! On the listening front, I've really been digging the Bloomdaddies "Racer X" (from a few years ago) and Peter Bernstein's new one entitled "Monk", with Doug Weiss and Bill Stewart. The new 3-ish CD "Baobab" will be available on CD Baby and iTunes by the end of February. I'll have a link set up soon. Happy listening!

1/20/09 Man, what a weekend! The gig with the Larry Goldings Quartet Friday night at Spazio was incredible. The band was Larry on Hammond B3 organ, Tim Reis on saxophones, and my good friend and teacher, Larry Koonse on guitar. The place was absolutely packed, filled with lots of musicians such as Jimmy Wyble, Darek Oles, Dave Koonse and my rhythm section mate from the Maynard Ferguson band, Ron Oswanski. Many of the LAJC members were in attendance as well including my pals Matt Otto, Jamie Rosenn, Joe Bagg, Steve Cotter and Mike Scott. The quartet played some standards as well as some of Larry's original music and need I say, it was a special night that I won't soon forget. In other news, "3-ish" (the chordless trio I'm in with Otto and McGillicuddy) had a very successful CD release party back in late December. The 3-ish CD will be available on this very website, as well as on iTunes, in a matter of days. Stay tuned and thanks for listening.

11/25/08 The LAJC Fall Festival was this past weekend and man, was it a blast! The Collective played a total of three nights; two nights at the Pasadena Jazz Institute and one night at the Jazz Bakery in Culver City. The turnout was fantastic for all of the nights and I do believe the word is spreading about our "little" group! We actually had the cover story in the November issue of the L.A. Jazz Scene (here's a link to the article: www.lajazzcollective.com/page20/page20.html) I played with a total of five bands over the course of the festival: Joe Bagg's quintet and Steve Cotter's trio Friday night, Ryan McGillicuddy's quartet and Josh Welchez' quartet Saturday, and I led my own trio featuring Joe Bagg and Hamilton Price at the Bakery on Monday night. (For a complete line-up of all the players, check out this link: www.lajazzcollective.com/blog/). It was so much fun to play everyone's original music and to hear so many great musicians. I can't wait till the next one! I'm back at the Bakery next week with the Matt Otto Quintet on Dec. 2 and have a CD RELEASE PARTY coming up on Dec. 21 with 3ish (the trio I'm in with Otto and McGillicuddy) at the good ol' Baked Potato. It's gonna be a fun month! Until then, happy turkey and mash potatoes to all...and to all a goodnight!

10/21/08 With Halloween fast approaching, things around here are getting pretty scary! Stay tuned for pictures of this year's festivities if you dare. Lately I've been very busy teaching at UC Irvine, Musicians Institute and World Mission University as well as teaching several private students at my home studio. On the gig front, I'm looking forward to playing with my good friends Joe Bagg and Jamie Rosenn this weekend at Herb Alpert's club Vibrato (www.vibratogrilljazz.com). Also, the Los Angeles Jazz Collective is hosting a three day festival in November that I'll be playing at with a few different bands. I'll even be leading my own trio at the Jazz Bakery on Monday, Nov. 24 featuring Bagg on piano and Hamilton Price on bass (see "gigs" page for more info or visit www.lajazzcollective.com .) A couple of quick movie recommendations for your viewing pleasure: The Onion Movie (truly hilarious!) and Heckler (documentary starring comedian Jamie Kennedy explores the often contentious relationship between the people onstage and the vocal critics in the audience who are more than willing to make their opinions known.) Enjoy!

8/8/08 Hi again peeps Last weekend, the Los Angeles Jazz Collective hosted our second event at the Pasadena Jazz Institute and JoE-LeSs ShOe was one of four bands to rock the house. These LAJC events are always so much fun...great music, great hang, great people. What more could you ask for?! For more info on the event or the LAJC, please visit www.lajazzcollective.com/blog/?p=60 Also, last weekend my quartet, "ShOe WITH JOe" featuring Matt Otto, Jamie Rosenn AND Sir Joe Bagg III esq., performed at the Baked Potato to a nearly sold out crowd. Viva la Spud! Other interesting gigs of late include hits with alto saxophonist Aaron Wolf (JimDangles) up in San Luis Obispo, Gigs/Clinic with piano-ist and keyboarder extrodinaire, Adam Benjamin (Kneebody), and a LIVE radio broadcast with Opton 3ish (Bagg, Rosenn) on KPFK 90.3FM. Here's the link if you'd like to hear it: feed://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/xml/gv_sergio.xml We're about 2/3 of the way into the broadcast. Option 3ish will be performing again at the Angel City Jazz Festival hosted by one of the L.A. jazz scene's most valuable assets, Rocco Somazzi on Sept. 1, 2008. For all the info on the killer festival line-up check out www.angelcityjazzfestival.com/Angel_City_Jazz_Festival/home.html . Last night, The Matt Otto/Jason Harnell Duo Project performed at Rocco's downtown venue , Cafe Metropol. I played a "drum kit" of my own design comprised of "items I found around the house" and Matt played sax, sounds, and vocals. It was our first gig and let me just say, it was a blast! I've posted a couple of short video clips at http://www.youtube.com/user/jharnell and here are some photos...Enjoy!

6/3/08 Greetings once again web-folk. Let's see...where to begin? I'm really digging a couple of books I'd like to recommend to any of you interested in the joys of reading. The first is a book by Daniel J. Levitin entitled "This is Your Brain on Music". It's a fascinating read and you don't have to play an insturment to appreciate it. The other is "The Basic Kafka" which is a collection of stories by the brilliant European writer Franz Kafka. Amazing stuff! I've also really been enjoying a series of lectures (given to me by my friend Matt Otto) by the great philosopher Alan Watts . If you've never checked him out, I highly recommend it. Musically, I've really been digging Nate Wood's most recent solo effort, "Fall" (where he plays ALL of the insturments, wrote all the songs and lyrics, and sings!) Bill Stewart's newest release entitled Incandescance has also been a source of great inspiration lately. On the gig front, recent fun stuff has included a gig at the Catalina bar and grill with the talented vocalist Sara Lieb, a recording session for film composer Robert Litton and weekly trio sessions with Adam Benjamin and Hamilton Price. Feel free to check out my "gigs" page for more on where I'll be playing in June. Take care and happy summer...

4/25/08 Gotta love the springtime in Southern Cal. Last weekend I was up in Northern California and Reno, NV doing some dates with the Paul Roth Quartet (formerly known as "the JimDangles") and it was cold, windy as hell, and even snowed (hard!) one night. Weather aside, we had an absolute ball. It was Paul on alto saxophone, Peter Slocumbe on tenor saxophone, and my travel buddy, Ryan McGillicuddy on bass. We played Moody's in Truckee, CA Friday and Saturday nights, did three gigs (and a jam session!) on Sunday, and gave a masterclass at UNR on Monday. UNR faculty members Peter Epstein and David Ake sat in with us on a couple of tunes and sounded fantastic. McGillicuddy and I stayed at a beautiful artist retreat just outside of Reno called the Franktown Ranch. (Thanks again Richard and Ursala.) We also played a concert at the Ranch on Sunday afternoon that was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Later that night, we even had a chance to go into downtown Reno and do some gambling where I won thirty-five bucks on the Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Viva la Reno!

3/17/08 The trip to Dubai was amazing! (Feel free to visit the photo page to see some pics!) We (Vocalist Antonia Bennett, Joe Bagg, Ryan McGillicuddy and myself) were there to perform at the Skyward International Jazz Festival on Friday 2/26/08. The Festival itself was very well attended (a few thousand people) and we were there for a total of four days which left us plenty of time to explore and chillax. We stayed at a beautiful resort right on the beach (Joe, Ryan and I even rented bodyboards and went surfing in the Persian Gulf.) We even had a chance to go indoor skiing and ride a camel (in the same day!) It was an absolute blast. In other news, I'm off from school for a couple of weeks and really looking forward to having some time to catch up reading (lately I'm really digging The Art of Practicing by M. Brusser and Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World), practicing, transcribing, etc. The Los Angeles Jazz Collective is gaining steam with the inaugural concerts coming up on April 4 and 5 (for more info check out http://www.myspace.com/lajazzcollective)
Enjoy the day.

2/11/08 Things are cooking! The JoE-LeSs ShOe CD release party at the Baked Potato last month was a huge success. Thanks to all of you who came out and shared in the festivities with us. The ShOe also performed a concert out in Palm Springs in late January and got a really nice write up in the local paper. You can check it out at:

7/31/07 Gotta love the summertime. My lovely wife and I just returned from an amazing five day vacation up in Cambria, CA. We stayed right on the ocean, hiked, ate great food and soaked in the jacuzzi. It reminded me of just how nice it is to get away and soak for a while...you dig? In music news, we are currently finishing up the artwork and layout concept for the upcoming JoE-LeSs ShOe CD. It will be available on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, etc in the coming months. I'll keep you posted. Exciting gigs coming up this month include a hit with the Joe Bagg Trio (with Joe on B3 and Leonard Thompson on piano!) at Vibrato, a couple of gigs with the JimDangles (from Reno, NV) and assorted dates with the always inventive Matt Otto. For more specific info on these and other upcoming shows, you can check out the "gigs" page on my site. Enjoy the day...

6/19/07 Wow, it's been a crazy few weeks! The gigs with Kate McGarry went great and were super fun. The gig at the Vic was an all NY band with some of my very favorite musicians: Gary Versace (p), Rueben Rogers (b), and Keith Ganz (g). The gig at Steamers was with Keith Ganz, fellow UCI professor Darek Oles on bass and,of course, Kate. It was truly an inspiring weekend.

The following weekend, JoE-LeSs ShOe played the Aroma Spring Jazz Festival in beautiful Idyllwild, CA. People seemed to really dig the band and we had an absolute ball hanging in the wilderness. Sara and I even rented a cabin for the weekend (complete with fireplace and jacuzzi) and had everybody over for a hang after the gig. Good times!

This past weekend I was in St. Joseph, Missouri playing at the Coleman Hawkins Jazz Festival with Vocalist Kimberly Ford and my good pals Leonard Thompson and Ryan McGillicuddy. We opened up for Bobby Watson in the 90 degree heat, 90% humidity and it was burin'...literally.

As for now, I'm done with school for a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to some time off. See you at the beach!

Enjoy the summer...

5/7/07 My class at P.I.T. (Bebop and Beyond: Developing Musical Creativity on the Drumset) is in it's fifth week and it's been going great. I've got some really good students in the class and It's been a great learning experience for me as well. Let's see what else...I had some fun gigs last week including a JoE-LesS ShOe gig at LAND on 2nd Street (thanks to all of you who came out!) and a gig with the Matt Otto Quartet at Cafe Metropol featuring the one and only Larry Koonse. Man, what a blast that was! I'm also really looking forward to a couple of gigs I have at the end of the month with vocalist extraordonaire, Kate McGarry. That's gonna be swingin'! By the way...for those of you who have inquired, the JoE-LesS ShOe recording is slated to be mixed in the coming weeks and will hopefully be available for purchase on-line by June. We should have the CD completed in July...we hope. Until next time...

3/26/07 Wow, it's almost April? The time she does-a-fly. Recent gigs of interest include a two day recording session for the Houston Chronicle (as in newspaper). I know, I thought they stopped making newspapers in the 80's too! Anyway, they didn't, and we recorded a total of fourteen spots, mostly for T.V but we did a few radio jingles as well. It is was a very different experience in that it was just upright bass (Randy Landas) and me and we played live to picture, composing on the spot. If you're in Houston check it out. Let's see...what else. I'm looking forward to a gig a have this Sunday (4/1/07) with Michael Bluestein and John Crooks at Charlie O's. That should be a lot of fun. On the educational front, schools out for spring break (where's my beer bong?) When it starts back up, I'll be teaching my new class at P.I.T., "BEBOP AND BEYOND: DEVELOPING MUSICAL CREATIVITY ON THE DRUMSET". I'm really looking forward to it. Until next time...

2/23/07 Greetings web folk. It's been a productive and enjoyable month thus far. Last week, the faculty rhythm section at UC Irvine (Kei Akagi, Darek Oles, and myself) teamed up with Kei Akagi's Trio in from Tokyo (Tomokaza Sugimoto on bass and Tamaya Honda on drums) to perform some master classes at UCI. Also, I've completed the ten week syllabus for the course I'll be teaching at P.I.T. next quarter entitled BeBop and Beyond: Developing Musical Creativity on the Drumset. I'm really excited about it. Recent fun gigs include a Steamers hit with the Matt Otto Quartet (with special guest Hamilton Price on bass) and a JoE-LeSS shOe gig at Mario's Place in Riverside (a venue I've been playing for over ten years now!) Speaking of JoE-leSs ShOe, we go back in the studio next week to finish the recording. If you go to my myspace page you can hear three of the tunes from the upcoming album. On a different note, I'm currently reading two books that I highly recommend: A New Earth by Eckart Tolle and Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. They're both fantastic. Happy reading!

1/23/07 Happy New Year! Hope the new year is panning out well thus far and that the holidays didn't leave you too bloated or regretful. Things here have been busy lately what with gigs, teaching, and the occasional Karaoke throw down...(good times.) I'm in the process of developing my own elective course for P.I.T. which will be offered next term. The working title for the course is "Developing Musical Creativity on the Drum Set." I'm excited about it and will keep you posted on further developments. I was in Santa Fe, New Mexico over the weekend performing with talented vocalist Lea DeLaria and my good pals Joe Bagg and Ryan McGillicuddy. We played at the beautiful Lensic Theater in downtown Sante Fe where it was snowing heavily and the high was 25 degrees. The gig was a blast and so was the hang. Lea's latest record, entitled "Double Standards", has some of my favorite musicians on the planet on it including Seamus Blake, Christian McBride and Bill Stewart on drums. This weekend, I'm looking forward to a gig at the world famous Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach with the Ron Stout Quartet (with Jerry Pinter on tenor saxophone, Joe Bagg on Hammond B3 and of course, Ron on trumpet. Should be a blast! Until next time...keep swinging.

12/15/06 Happy merry and a jolly who-wa-diddy-dooble to all! Hope the season has been fun so far with only minor outbursts of road rage and indigestion. I, myself have yet to buy any gifts. I guess instead of typing this I should be at the mall. Oh well...I.O.U.s for everybody!! The Joe-less Shoe recording went great and we've got seven songs in the can: three Rosenn's, two Otto's, two Harnell's and a PARRRTRIDGE IN AAAA PEAR TREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! But seriously, the stuff is really sounding great thanks to wizard engineer and all around good guy, Steve Perkins of Creation Studios in Tustin. Thanks Steve. We'll be going back in the studio in January to finish the project. As for other news, I had a nice holiday gig last night with some friends. The always engaging Sara Lieb was present, as well as the "original" three wisemen: Mark Waggoner, Leonard Thompson, and Ryan McGillicuddy...good times! As for the holidays, I have family coming to visit from Florida and we're doing the Christmas dinner at our place for the first time. Should be interesting. If I make it out alive, I'll post pictures. Happy Holidays everybody.

11/14/06 Well, it looks like we survived Halloween (I think?) and we got Turkey day on the way. I just celebrated a birthday too (wee-hee!).

So it's official, Joe-less shoe is going into the studio to record on December thirteenth! That means hopefully sometime in the near future, you'll be able to purchase the CD right here on this website. (Man, we're in the future! ) Check back for more details. :) Anyway, not much else to report.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and get you're protective eye gear ready...Christmas is right around the corner.

10/13/06 Halloween is in the air! Can you feel it? If no, perhaps you need to spend some quality time with a pumpkin and/or maybe eat a few hundred pieces of candy corn while listening to Bartok and watching the Charlie Brown Halloween Special with the sound turned off. Try it! It worked for me. I've been feeling Halloween in the air since around mid-July. (Below is a photo from last year's Halloween party. I'm the fat one.) Big times.

I'm back teaching full force at both UC Irvine and the Musicians Institute in Hollywood and I've got some good students. Interesting gigs of late include a concert with NY vocalist/educator Jay Clayton, a gig with the Joe Bagg trio, and a recording session where I played an old chair (literally). It was for a film and they videoed me as I tracked so they could show the actor what I did.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Enjoy October. It rules.

9/14/06 Howdy folks. So I'm finally getting around to adding a news page to my site. Something I've been meaning to do for sometime! I'm off from both of my teaching gigs at MI (Musicians Institute) and UC Irvine until the end of the month. That means more free time to do things like practice, write, update my website and most importantly bodyboard. In fact, Joe Bagg and I are heading to the beach in a few minutes! Hope the waves are bitchin'. :) In other news, (wow, I sound like Peter Jennings) I wrote a new tune last week entitled "Sea". Hopefully, you'll be able to hear it ont he site in the near future. Last months gigs with Kate McGarry and MOSS (Kate, Theo Bleckman, Lauren Kinhan, and Peter Eldridge) were super fun. What fantastic vocalists! Plans are in the works for Shoe-less Joe (the bass-less trio featuring my good friends Matt Otto and Jamie Rosenn) to record (finally!) I'll keep y'all posted. Here's a picture of us after rehearsal. Imagine what you'll look like after you've been "Shoe-lessed". Take care out ther and remember...in the words of my father, "really dig".