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Article: Drummer Man
- Article from:
- Pittsburgh City Paper
- Article date:
- January 21, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Steel City Media Jan 21-Jan 28, 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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This year's stage production featuring the most jazz is likely to be Clean Drums. It's Kuntu Repertory Theatre's revival of the Rob Penny play about legendary Pittsburgh-born drummer Joe Harris, focusing on his argument with younger musicians who espouse a free-form style.
Harris, born and raised in Manchester, was involved in some musical innovations himself. As a young man - he's now in his 80s - he moved in 1946 to New York City, where he played with Dizzy Gillespie, helped pioneer Latin jazz, and anchored the house band at the famed Apollo Theater. In the late '50s, he lived and worked in Sweden, eventually returning to the States for TV work in Los Angeles, among other things. He later ...