Harry Beckett had already had a long and celebrated career as a jazz trumpeter before Adrian Sherwood requested his services. Here then is an introduction to Beckett’s first appearance for On-U Sound:

A long-standing figure on the London jazz scene, trumpeter Harry Beckett has kept his music fresh over a long career, and none more so than on his debut On-U Sound release in 2008 produced by Adrian Sherwood, which invites reggae and dance music influences to happily live alongside his modal jazz flavours.

Born in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1935, Beckett was just 19 when he left home in 1954 and arrived in Britain. All he brought with him was his trumpet, the talent he was born with and a desire to learn. As fierce and fiery as any trumpet and flugelhorn stylist, yet also capable of a shimmering lyricism, Beckett found a home in Britian’s jazz scene. He was, however, no overnight success. The jazz scene of 1950s London didn’t open its arms to him initially, and it wasn’t until the mid-60s that other musicians began to take notice. Ever since, Beckett’s playing has been turning heads.

He had joined Graham Collier’s band in the early ’60s, remaining with it until 1977. Beckett was featured in the film “All Night Long” with Charles Mingus in 1961. He also worked with Mike Westbrook’s orchestra and Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood Of Breath. Beckett played with the big bands of Neil Ardley, Mike Gibbs and John Warren, and was part of the London Jazz Composer’s Orchestra. He also was a member of small combos led by Tony Oxley, John Surman and Ray Russell. Beckett played with the Stan Tracey Octet in the mid-’70s, and also worked with Elton Dean and Zila, a group led by Dudu Pukwana.

The ‘Modern Sound Of Harry Beckett’ is going to surprise a lot of people. You’re more likely to hear it echoing out the door of a hip night club or booming from a car driven by some twenty-something than from the deck of one of Beckett’s more mainstream fans. Nils Petter Molv�r, Bugge Wesseltoft, maybe some of those guys from the F-ire Collective. You might have expected something like that from them but not from Harry Beckett. Yet, like all his work, this album is defined as ever by the class of Beckett’s playing and the beauty of his music.

Pairing Beckett’s liquid, quicksilver trumpet and distinctive melody lines with the maverick genius of reggae and dance producer, Adrian Sherwood, might not sound like a match made in heaven. In practice, it proves to have been inspirational. How they came to connect speaks volumes about Beckett’s open-minded approach to music. It also features contributions from the late, great Junior Delgado. According to Beckett, his work with Jah Wobble provided the launching pad for his late-in-the-day On-U ‘career’:

“Through the years, I’ve been doing things on Jah Wobble’s albums. And Adrian had been in contact with Wobble for years. He heard what I had been doing and he asked me to work with him. So, it all really started there and then he asked me what I thought about this idea he had for an album.”

It’s one of those rare records – a collaboration of diverse and divergent talents that transforms into something far, far more than the some of its parts.

(Material adapted from an article in Jazzwise magazine by Duncan Heining and Ron Wynn’s All Music Guide entry for Harry Beckett

Adrian Sherwood is the founding father of On U Sound.

During the early 80’s he brought together many Jamaican artists under the collective name of Singers & Players including Prince Far I, Mikey Dread, Bim Sherman and many others, this helped promote the individual artists at the same time as promoting the record label.

In 1986 he began working Jamaican dub producer and singer Lee Perry. They produced the classic album ‘Time Boom X De Devil Dead’ and Sherwood’s support helped relaunch Perry’s career.

He made contributions to the Industrial music genre in his remix of Einstürzende Neubauten’s song ‘Yü Gung’, on the album ‘Halber Mensch’, as well as his production work with Ministry, Cabaret Voltaire, KMFDM, Terminal Power Company and Nine Inch Nails.

Adrian has also contributed to the blues, with his Little Axe project with Skip McDonald, producing his album on Real World Records, ‘Champagne and Grits’ in 2006.

In 2003, Adrian Sherwood released his first album as a solo artist, ‘Never Trust A Hippie?’ which featured collaborations with various artists such as Sly & Robbie, Steven “Lenky” Marsden, Carlton “Bubblers” Ogilvie and Jazzwad.

In 2006 he released his second album ‘Becoming A Cliché’ that again featured numerous artists such as Lee “Scratch” Perry, the late Bim Sherman, Dennis Bovell, Little Roy, Leigh ‘LSK’ Kenny, Samia Farah, Raiz and Mark Stewart. A limited 2-disc version was released simultaneously with the second disc titled ‘Dub Cliché’.

On beginning a solo career, Sherwood stated, “I wanted to do some of my own writing and make something that was challenging for me… As a producer, it’s my job to satisfy the artist foremost. I wanted to make something that was a little more aggressive and modern. I wanted to paint a picture that was contemporary, one that specifically showed where my brain was at. I’ve got to the point in my life where it’s time for me to call all of the shots.”