Guitarist Jimmy Harris played on the Washington, D.C. R&B scene during the '50s, most often associated with the overpopulated Frank Motley & His Crew. The latter group was led by a trumpeter with roots in the swing era who had come up with a technique of playing two trumpets simultaneously. Naturally, he populated his own ensemble -- some might say overpopulated -- with unique players including percussionist T.N.T. Tribble, capable of and not adverse to playing a hip bongo solo to kick off a set.
Harris also had plenty of featured slots in the set list, originally documented by indie R&B and jazz labels such as Gotham, Specialty, Gem, DC, Big Town, and Hollywood. Gotham, for example, pressed a single highlighting Harris with the Motley band on an easygoing "That's All Right with Me," the leader's brass bonanza presented on the flip, "Dual Trumpet Blues." Most of these sides have been reissued on collections such as Dual Trumpeter and Best of Washington, D.C. R&B. Harris seems to have wandered off the radar following Motley's decision to move the band to Canada.
