RUFUS HARLEY
Genres: Hard Bop, World Fusion, Soul Jazz, Exotica • United States

Rufus Harley was jazz's first bagpiper, singlehandedly transforming a droning, unwieldy instrument associated almost exclusively with Celtic traditions into a soulful and deeply spiritual element of the modern jazz lexicon. Born May 20, 1936, in Raleigh, NC, Harley spent the majority of his childhood in Philadelphia, where he studied saxophone and flute and at 18 made his professional debut behind bandleader Mickey Collins. Like much of his generation, his life was irrevocably altered by the November 22, 1963, assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but Harley was particularly moved by the Black Watch, the Scottish infantry bagpiper corps accompanying Kennedy's funeral procession, and sought to recreate their potently mournful sound via traditional woodwinds. Unsatisfied with the results, Harley finally acquired his own bagpipes at a New York City pawnshop, and in 1964 secured his first gigs at the West Philadelphia nightclub Squeaky's -- audiences were bemused but appreciative, and when read more...