High Spirits

Joe Harriott’s High Spirits, is a post-bop album featuring the British/Jamaican saxophonist’s quintet playing interpretations of tunes from the Noël Coward musical of the same name, this album is characterized by its melodic, swinging, and accessible nature, featuring strong, lyrical work from Harriott and trumpeter Shake Keane, with arrangements by pianist Pat Smythe. Unlike the more "free-form" experiments Harriott was known for at the time, High Spirits sticks to a more traditional hard-swinging, post-bop style, the quintet's arrangements and, crucially, their improvisational skills, rescue it from being a commercial or bland effort.