Don Harris, born June 18, 1938 in Pasadena, CA. Beginning his career as the guitar playing half of the 1950s rock duo, Don & Dewey, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, put down the guitar and picked up the violin after the lack of success for Don & Dewey. Classically trained as a violinist, Harris' skill at improvisation began attracting attention from the rock world and soon he was appearing on records by John Lee Hooker, Frank Zappa and Johnny Otis. In 1970 Harris joined forces with British blues musician John Mayall when the latter was forming his first all American backing band. In addition to joining the backing bands of Mayall, Zappa and others, Harris also recorded a series of albums for labels such as Epic and BASF. After a lengthy battle with pulmonary disease, on December 1, 1999 he was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment at the age of 61.




Paul Lagos - Drums
Harvey Mandel - Guitar
Larry Taylor - Bass








Volker Kriegel - Guitar
Tony Oxley - Drums
John T. Taylor - Piano

This studio session marked the beginning of blues violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris' association with the German record label Saba (later renamed MPS). Harris, who was nearly flat broke at the time, had to borrow one of the violins used on the date, along with a pickup for the amplified selections. Joined by electric guitarist Volker Kriegel, pianist John Taylor, and drummer Tony Oxley, the session ends up being a fusion of blues, jazz, and a bit of rock, while all of the songs are Harris' originals.








Wolfgang Dauner - Keyboards
Volker Kriegel - Guitar
Terje Rypdal - Guitar
Neville Whitehead - Bass
Robert Wyatt - Drums

This live recording has its rough spots and at times sounds as if it was mixed insensitively, but despite all quibbling this is one of the finest documentations of Don "Sugarcane" Harris at work. This performance at the 1971 Berlin Jazz Festival stands out as his best overall recording. "Sugarcane's Got the Blues" is a real tour de force, nearly 15 minutes of electric violin sizzle. This record has been difficult to find since BASF quit making records in the mid-'70s, but it is well worth acquiring.








Victor Conte - bass
Paul Lagos - drums
Harvey Mandel - guitar
Randy Resnick - guitar
Larry Taylor Bass - bass
Dewey Terry - Percussion, Keyboards, Piano

Harris, who wrote all of the material heard on the date, mixes elements of jazz, country, and rock into his brand of blues. One amusing aspect of the LP is the obvious presence of guitarist Harvey Mandel, who evidently could not be named for contractual reasons, though his photo is barely disguised with an old-fashioned black bar over his eyes.








Victor Conte - Bass
Paul Lagos - Drums
Randy Resnick Guitar
Dewey Terry - Percussion, Keyboards, Piano

Violinist Sugarcane Harris recorded a series of blues LPs for the German label MPS in the early to mid-'70s, though this effort is the least interesting of the lot. Consisting of eight originals, most of which are not particularly inspired, especially with the excessive production, including a backing vocalist, Harris overdubbing organ, bass, and percussion, and Dewey Terry's bland arrangements.








Todd Canedy - Drums
Volker Kriegel - Guitar
Gunter Lenz - Bass
Dewey Terry - Keyboards

This album has been released in 1975 and contains material of 1973.








Todd Canedy - Drums
Volker Kriegel - Guitar
Gunter Lenz - Bass
Dewey Terry - Keyboards

This album was released in 1976 and contains material recorded in Sept. 1973.








Harvey Mandel - guitar
Don Harris - violin, vocals
Randy Resnick - guitar
Victor Conte - bass
Paul Lagos - drums