Still in his 20s, vibraphonist Stefon Harris is being hailed as the new master of a very unlikely instrument. With the jazz world already well populated with precocious saxophonists, drummers and pianists, Harris explores his own territory with a music machine rarely found in nightclubs, and one which, to be frank, is not always welcomed by jazz fans. There is perhaps nothing as bad as badly played vibes.
Inspired only by the great players, however, Harris is now one of the most talked about musicians on the US scene - last year's Blue Note recording, Black Action Figure, placing him in the vanguard of the younger turks of jazz. Originally from Albany, New York, he might as easily have chosen a more practical instrument, but music and circumstances conspired to make him a percussionist with a difference - and someone open to the limitless possibilities of jazz.
"I think I heard Steps Ahead when I was in high school - that kind of music was popular in upstate New York - but the first straight-ahead cat that I heard, and was really drawn to, was Milt Jackson. After that it was Bobby Hutcherson,
and then Lionel Hampton." Hampton is one of the towering influences on vibraphone playing. Working with Benny Goodman and later with his own orchestra, he perhaps did most to popularise the vibraphone as an instrument with real impact. His speciality was excitement and he could whip up an extraordinary frenzy on an instrument often scoffed at as light and powerless. Harris, who is definitely neither, is quick to acknowledge the influence of the very senior vibesman in his own playing - albeit a hidden one.
"Hampton was always able to maintain that sense of melody and swing at the same time. In music, we have a structure known as the triad, which is the most basic form of harmony - you need these three notes in order to have a chord.
And if you look at the music of Lionel Hampton, he would play these great incredible solos using only those three notes - with some embellishments - but really based on this simple structure." Perhaps it is the late Milt "Bags" Jackson of the Modern Jazz Quartet who is the real touchstone for Harris. Jackson developed an extraordinary technique at a time when the instrument was much less flexible than it is today. While Hampton really whacked the instrument with extraordinary vigour, Jackson chose to caress it, increasing its emotional range and possibilities. Harris does both - sometimes he is lyrical and flowing in the manner of Bags, at other times he is extremely percussive in a style beyond, but reminiscent, of Hampton.
"The hard percussive thing is definitely a part of who I am. But I think that all of it should be covered. Sometimes I like to play so soft that people sit on the edge of their seat to hear it, and sometimes I want to play with so much intensity that they're ready to stand up and scream. I want the entire range. All of it is very important."
The current album, Black Action Figure, is intended to be an optimistic and fun record with the playfulness of the title echoed in the music itself. Harris talks of the musical discoveries he makes as being accidents that happen to the prepared mind, and refers to himself as being a vehicle of the music - his job not to invent, but to listen, recognise and articulate what he hears. Every composition, he believes, has already been written; and furthermore, the vibes themselves are not the issue.
"I'm not a big fan of the vibes. In fact I'm not very big on instruments. I just settled on vibes because I won an audition. I think it's much more to do with the musician, and no matter what instrument you play, your personal spirit is always going to come across. That's what attracts people, it's not the instrument. So if I didn't play vibes, I would do it on piano or some other instrument."
But a vibes player he is, and one in great demand. Over the years, he has performed with Max Roach, Bobby Watson, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Henderson, Buster Williams - and even that trinity of his very own vibraphone heroes. Quite undaunted by being in the presence of such greatness, Harris displays a maturity and calm well beyond in his musical years. And in that, like so many jazz musicians, he manages to maintain an extraordinary balance of humility and, it seems, absolute confidence. He may be the youngest in the class, but he's definitely the kid most likely to succeed.
"I've been very blessed. I've been able to be on the stage with Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson and Lionel Hampton. And it's great if you have the right attitude. Imagine being around the people who created the thing that you love so much in your life - to be able to stand on the stage next to them from time to time. If you were a scientist and Einstein was still around and you could hang out with him, it would be an amazing experience - not a difficult one."
Black Action Figure is available on Blue Note Records