Harras

Harras is an album of improvised music by Derek Bailey, John Zorn & William Parker. The album was released by the Japanese Avant label in 1996. Towards the end of the track "Evening Harras" there is 10 minutes of silence followed by a Bailey solo. "According to Derek Bailey, the abrupt cutoff was planned. Derek wanted to end it "on a high". The Bailey solo material appended after the silence was apparently Zorn's idea."^[1]

Harras
Live album by Derek Bailey, John Zorn & William Parker
Released	January 30, 1996
Recorded	1993
Venue	Knitting Factory, New York City
Genre	Avant-garde jazz
Length	57:34
Label	Avant
Producer	Derek Bailey & John Zorn
John Zorn chronology
Masada: Vav (1995) Harras (1996) John Zorn's Cobra: Tokyo Operations '94 (1995)

Reception

The Allmusic review by Dean McFarlane awarded the album 3 stars stating "Evidently the candid session that took place on a night in New York resulted in a chaotic collision of ideas. With the performers being such strong voices individually, the abundant ideas fly in and out of the picture with no apparent regard to form; the session evolves from tepid beginnings into a no-holds-barred, rapid-fire assault on the senses. Fans of ultra-high-energy free improvisation will find it a delight to hear these three masters sparring on this one-off collaboration, making Harras a vital historical document which requires the gumption of a hardened avant-garde music fan to take the whole recording in one listen".^[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Bailey/Parker/Zorn

1. "Morning Harras" – 12:35
2. "Noon Harras" – 8:59
3. "Evening Harras" – 36:00

Personnel

• Derek Bailey – guitar
• John Zorn – alto saxophone
• William Parker – bass

References

1. Zorn mailing list FAQ accessed July 21, 2008.
2. McFarlane, D. Allmusic Review accessed June 7, 2011
3. Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.