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UCLA Obituary: Harold Land

Carolyn Campbell (ccampbel@arts.ucla.edu) (310) 825-6540
For Immediate Use Monday, August 06, 2001.

Harold Land, a tenor saxophonist regarded as a premier jazz improviser and a member of the faculty in the UCLA Jazz Studies Program, died July 27 in Los Angeles following a stroke. He was 73. Land joined the UCLA faculty as a lecturer in October 1996, where he taught an instrumental jazz combo.

“Harold Land was one of the major contributors in the history of the jazz saxophone,” said Kenny Burrell, founder and director of the UCLA Jazz Studies Program and a distinguished jazz guitarist. “He was a vital and well-loved member of the jazz faculty here at UCLA.”

Land was born in Houston and raised in San Diego. He became interested in music while in high school after hearing Coleman Hawkins’ classic recording of “Body and Soul.” He moved to Los Angeles in the early ’50s, and in 1954 he joined the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet, with whom he toured the United States and recorded several albums. After two years with the group, he returned to Los Angeles. He established himself as one of the most singular and powerful jazzmen, recording with bassists Red Mitchell and Curtis Counce. His album “Harold in the Land of Jazz” was released in 1958.

He performed and recorded with Gerald Wilson’s orchestra from the late ’50s through the ’60s. Wilson, also a member of the UCLA Jazz Studies Program faculty, described Land as “a brilliant stylist who received the highest praise from his colleagues and fans alike. As an educator, he was revered by his students because of his high standards.”

In the late ’60s he formed a quintet with vibist Bobby Hutcherson. The group recorded for Blue Note and toured the United States and Europe. His appearances as star soloist with Tony Bennett in Las Vegas and on tour brought him to the attention of audiences that might not have otherwise known his work.

Land performed and/or recorded with Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Red Garland, Jimmy Smith, Nancy Wilson, Billie Holiday, Joe Williams and others. In the ’80s, he joined the Timeless All-Stars, which included Hutcherson, Billy Higgins, Cedar Walton, Curtis Fuller and Buster Williams.

He appeared on television on “The Johnny Carson Show,” “The Merv Griffin Show” and “The Mike Douglas Show.”

Land received two National Endowment for the Arts Composition Fellowship Grants: in 1979 for “Midnight Mood,” a composition performed in 1980 for the Los Angeles Committee on Jazz; and in 1975 for “The Ten Worlds,” a jazz suite performed in 1976 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

Mayor Tom Bradley proclaimed Sept.15, 1991, as Harold Land Day in Los Angeles.

His dream of recording an album with strings came to fruition in “A Lazy Afternoon,” with orchestrations by Ray Ellis, released in 1994. In the late ’90s he performed widely on his own, both locally and abroad.

Land is survived by his wife, Lydia; a son, jazz pianist Harold Land Jr.; and a grandson. Plans for a memorial service on Sept. 4 are pending.

Contact: Carolyn Campbell
Phone: (310) 825-6540
Email: ccampbel@arts.ucla.edu