Corey Harris

Among today's blues artists, Corey Harris has drawn widespread praise for his rare ability to transmit the unfiltered intensity of acoustic Delta blues while steering clear of any hint that he is merely reenacting history. Although thoroughly familiar with the traditions of early blues guitar, he operates far from the role of a polite archivist, folding in sounds from New Orleans, the Caribbean, and Africa to shape his deeply felt work. This breadth has enabled him to reach listeners who range from committed traditionalists to those open to more modern directions.

Born in Denver, Colorado, on February 21, 1969, Harris picked up the guitar at age 12 after discovering his mother's Lightnin' Hopkins records. During high school he performed with a rock & roll group and the marching band while also honing his voice through church singing. At Bates College in Maine, where he studied anthropology, he spent time in Cameroon researching African linguistics and later returned on a postgraduate fellowship, absorbing the region's intricate polyrhythms during extended listening. Upon his return to the United States, he taught English and French in Napoleonville, Louisiana, and spent his free hours performing in clubs, coffeehouses, and on street corners around New Orleans. The local following he built eventually led to a contract with Alligator Records. His first release for the label, Between Midnight and Day, arrived in 1995 as a solo guitar recording that demonstrated command of multiple Delta blues approaches; the album received enthusiastic reviews and broader media notice, establishing him as a fresh voice and securing an opening slot on tour with Natalie Merchant.

Harris issued Fish Ain't Bitin' in 1997, expanding his approach by incorporating a New Orleans-style brass section on several tracks and placing greater weight on original material. The following year he joined the Billy Bragg/Wilco project Mermaid Avenue, supplying guitar and blues-inflected backup vocals on several Woody Guthrie songs set to new music. In 1999 he delivered Greens from the Garden, widely regarded by critics as his most accomplished recording to that point; the album pushed further into New Orleans funk and R&B while placing covers in unexpected yet fitting settings that included reggae and hip-hop, creating a broad survey of Black musical idioms that brought him greater recognition. Pianist Henry Butler guested on the release, and their partnership continued with the full-length Vu-Du Menz, issued in 2000, which reworked various strains of early jazz and blues.

Harris then moved to Rounder Records and debuted on the label with Downhome Sophisticate in 2002, an eclectic set that foregrounded his African influences and introduced Latin elements to his expanding range. Two further Rounder albums followed: Mississippi to Mali in 2003 and Daily Bread in 2005. Continuing his explorations, he looked to Jamaica and roots reggae for Zion Crossroads, released in 2007 on Telarc Records. A second Telarc album, Blu. Black, appeared in 2009 and again reflected his engagement with Jamaican music. Fulton Blues, issued in 2013, returned to several of his blended blues forms across a varied collection.