suddenly emerged as a credible lead instrument in rock music, largely due to the supernatural virtuosity of Jean- Luc Ponty, Jerry Goodman and Don ‘Sugar Cane’ Harris. Marginally less celebrated than either Ponty or Goodman, Harris was arguably the fieriest of the three, with a folk-blues base to his playing which nevertheless didn’t prevent him from scorching a broad swathe in his solos with oblique, angular jazz phrasing and spontaneous speed-of-light note flurries of corpuscular intricacy.
Possibly best remembered for his contributions to Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats – and a show-stopping, jaw-unhinging take on Little Richard’s Directly From My Heart To You on Weasels Ripped My Flesh – Harris released a string of solo albums between 1970-76, of which ’73’s Cup Full Of Dreams is entirely representative. Accompanied by the cool musos of Pure Food And Drug Act, Harris eschews formal compositions and merely lets fly over a variety of open-ended jazz-rock rhythm beds. While a little (or a lot) more rigour in the writing department would have added a star here, the ensemble playing is nevertheless exemplary. Some groundbreaking finger-tapping from guitarist Randy Resnick, particularly on the 14-minute title track and Runnin’ Away, actually matches Harris for innovatory technique.
