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Corey Harris has led the life of a musical explorer, traveling and listening all over the world. He’s performed at many of the world’s most well-known venues, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, London’s Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. As the star of Martin Scorsese’s segment of the PBS series, The Blues, Corey traveled to Mali to play with Ali Farka Toure, a voyage he repeated for his album of field recordings called Mississippi to Mali, in which he explored the connections between African music and the blues.
Born in Denver, Colorado in 1969, Corey Harris made two extended trips to Cameroon after graduating from college. He came home fromWest Africa determined to make his way as a musician, while he taught French at a rural Louisiana middle school. In the decade between 1995 and 2005, Corey released a string of critically acclaimed albums which firmly established this young lion as the most versatile blues and roots artist of his time. He has toured in Guinea and Mali, West Africa, as well as South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Most recently, Corey has released Zion Crossroads (Telarc, 2007), a celebration of roots reggae, Ras Tafari, Ethiopia, and the African continent.
In 2007 The MacArthur Foundation named Corey one of only 24 recipients worldwide of their genius award. Since then, Corey has continued to tour internationally. In the summer of 2009 Corey performed at both the Calgary and Vancouver folk festivals in a solo acoustic format, evoking the missing link between Africa and the African diaspora with his powerful blend of original and traditional repertoire. As a bandleader he has toured widely with his critically acclaimed band, the 5x5, an electric vision that has come to be known as the Rasta Blues Experience. With revolutionary lyrics and danceable grooves Corey has redefined the roots music concept, embracing it in all its forms. His latest album, blu.black, will be released in September on the Telarc label. Produced by Chris "Peanut' Whitley (Stable Roots Productions), this is the most powerful mix of cutting edge roots music heard today. blu.black is already receiving rave reviews based on sneak previews of his title tracks.
“The CD is laced with messages and conscious lyrics that would thrill a lover of true reggae/roots and culture music. It’s really a celebration of the ‘overstanding’ of this journey we call life.” - Carib News about Zion Crossroads
Corey Harris' Official MySpace Page
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