Winard Harper


Hiram Winard Harper is an American jazz drummer.

Career

Harper played in the 1980s with Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, and with Betty Carter for four years. While working with Carter he met Wycliffe Gordon, with whom Harper would collaborate repeatedly.
From 1988 to 1993 he worked with his brother, trumpeter Philip Harper, in the group The Harper Brothers, alongside Justin Robinson, Javon Jackson, Walter Blanding, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Stephen Scott, Kevin Hays, Michael Bowie, and Nedra Wheeler.
After the dissolution of the Harper brothers, Winard recorded several albums as a leader. In the early 2000s he worked with his sextet and performed at Lincoln Center in New York City. He played with Avery Sharpe in 2008. He leads the group Jeli Posse.

Discography

As leader

  • Be Yourself
  • Trap Dancer
  • Winard
  • A Time for the Soul
  • Come into the Light
  • Coexist
The Harper Brothers
With Ray Bryant
With Betty Carter
  • Look What I Got!
  • Betty Carter
  • Betty Carter's Finest Hour
With Wycliffe Gordon
With Etta Jones
  • Reverse the Charges
  • At Last
With David "Fathead" Newman
  • Under a Woodstock Moon
  • Chillin
  • Keep the Spirits Singing
  • The Gift
  • I Remember Brother Ray
With Houston Person
  • Why Not!
  • The Lion and His Pride
  • Christmas with Houston Person and Friends
With Avery Sharpe
  • Dragon Fly
  • Legends & Mentors
  • Autumn Moonlight
  • Avery Sharpe Trio Live
With Billy Taylor
With Frank Wess
  • Surprise, Surprise!
  • Once Is Not Enough
  • Magic 101
With others'