A jazz saxophonist who played with freedom and style, Eddie Harris created both
popular, soulful melodies that crossed over into the mainstream and
experimental, free-form improvisations that pleased the purists; but his grooves
were always smooth, funky and inventive. A rare talent who grew up playing piano
in his local church in Chicago and mastered saxophone at Roosevelt University,
he began his career backing Gene Ammons and played in army bands before landing
a surprise top 40 hit with his arrangement of the Ernest Gold theme tune to war
movie Exodus. It became one of the fi...