Seasoned singer-songwriter Ben Harper can deliver a soulful pop-infused love song dedicated to the woman he loves with just as much heartfelt sincerity as a socially-conscious roots reggae number about instituting change or an easy-going acoustic rock ditty about individuality and burning one down between friends. He plays electric, acoustic and lap steel guitars with the confident ease and offhanded skill of a person who’s always had music in his life, and he has a rich, R&B-velvety tone that can be flexed to fit any occasion, whether it’s dipping into a low and tender croon, rising in a gospel soul wail, or making an aggressive hard rockin’ demand.
The 40-year-old multi-ethnic artist grew up in Southern California and passed much of his time at his maternal grandparents’ musical instruments shop/museum, where he was exposed to the folk and blues that influences his sound to this very day. Harper’s musically-inclined family encouraged his creativity, and he played his first guitar at age 7, picked up slide guitar as a teen, and continued refining his style while repairing and restoring guitars in his grandparents’ shop until age 20, when blues musician and shop regular Taj Mahal took Harper under his wing and onto the road.
Harper has carved out quite the career for himself in the 16 years since his debut, experimenting with a range of styles, incorporating those that fit best, and growing into his own as a musician along the way. He’s won two Grammys — both in ‘05 for There Will Be a Light, his album with The Blind Boys of Alabama — and has released nine full-length LPs to date as a solo artist, with his longtime band the Innocent Criminals, and most recently, with his new four-piece project, the Relentless7.
Harper originally met Relentless7 guitarist Jason Mozersky a dozen years ago after a chance encounter with one of Mozersky’s then-bandmates ended with Harper landing his band a record deal. Mozersky and Harper continued their friendship in earnest over the years, until Harper invited Mozersky to perform on his 2005 album, Both Sides of the Gun. The chemistry was undeniable. Soon enough, they were hitting the studio with bassist Jesse Ingalls and drummer Jordan Richardson and laying down the tracks that would eventually become 2009’s White Lies for Dark Times.
With Relentless7, Harper brings less soul and folk-tinged balladry to the table, and more ragged-edged blues, funky bumps and grinds, and unapologetically thunderous rock n’ roll. I spoke with Harper on a Thursday afternoon and among other things, we discussed his band’s new release, Live From the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and a forthcoming second studio LP tentatively titled Give Till It’s Gone that features guest spots by Ringo Starr and Jackson Browne.
