"And the drummer Eric Harland’s rewriting of “Yes or No,” with a rhythm in alternating four- and five-beat measures, became a sneaky concerto. Mr. Harland always plays as if he’s soloing, so as the piece went through its slow buildup you weren’t expecting the actual solo in the middle. It arrived and stayed for a few minutes; then the drumming became enfolded again into the group without a change in style, flowing onward."

Click here for BEN RATLIFF's full article at NYTimes.

I know this has been posted before but thought I would revisit with a link to the full article by Ken Micallef at ModernDrummer.com.
-jmo

"A young man who ran with gangs and preached the gospel - who found his future from a chance meeting with jazz trumpeter and historian Wynton Marsalis - and who successfully fuses the styles of Steve Gadd and Jack DeJohnette, Eric Harland is a unique presence. His work on records by such artists as Terence Blanchard, Mark Shim, and Ravi Coltrane is a study in orchestral drumming. Where many drummers approach conventional jazz rhythms using the ride cymbal as the lead voice, Harland uses the entire set and its variety of sounds to underpin, elaborate, and explore the rhythm.

As likely to play a funky Bernard Purdie pattern as a floating Jack DeJohnette pulse, Harland is musical to a fault, but extremely creative--and even courageous. But that's not surprising for a man who has not only weathered the storms of life, but prospered, finding himself in the process."

"I think we're all going through a process in life of gaining a sense of identity and having to defend it at the same time," Harland says. "You have what flows with it and also what contradicts it. That's where you get your strength, from the perseverance of being yourself and the balance of understanding your place in this world."


Click here for the full interview.

"His style is described as dynamic, with an ability to play straightahead and free with equal aplomb, and to move from delicate passages to ferociously bombastic soloing."

Lots of great links to the artist that Eric Harland has played with over the years over at wikipedia.org.

Click here to chek it out.

A leading drummer on the national scene, 28-year-old Texas-born Eric Harland has performed with jazz legends like Betty Carter, Joe Henderson, and McCoy Tyner, and has played on more than 35 recordings with such artists as Terence Blanchard, Greg Osby, Charles Lloyd, and Stefon Harris. In Down Beat's 65th Annual Readers Poll, he was included in the short list of top drummers, in the company of masters like Roy Haynes and the late Elvin Jones.

Click here for more.

With Charles Lloyd and others.

Click here.