Since 1994 in New York City, Sean Harkess has cut a very wide swath as an accompanist, solo artist, arranger, composer and educator. He’s known especially for duets and ensemble work with singers from Broadway, television and film, as well as an international solo artist appearing in a wide variety of venues, from jazz, rock, folk and cabaret to blues, R&B and more. Harkness has been performing since age 11, studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and after a year of busking the streets of Europe, moved to Vermont where for five years he worked in the shop assisting master guitar builder Chip Wilson. His numerous awards include Outstanding Instrumentalist of 2011 Backstage Bistro Award; 2014 Broadwayworld Cabaret Award for Best CD Release; and six MAC Awards for ensemble instrumentalist, his solo shows, a CD with duo partner, Canadian trumpeter Mike Herriot, and Major Duo/Group with Lina Koutrakos and Marcus Simeone. He has eight commercial releases as an artist, many on Windham Hill Records (BMG/RCA/Sony). Walden Guitars featured Sean on their 2011 and 2012 product catalog covers, released a Signature 12-string guitar in Europe, Asia, and North America, and his B-1 Baritone Acoustic guitar. Harkness also teaches guitar master classes and music workshops.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks Sean Harkness (SH) Six Questions:
NLE: How did Clearly Now, your collaboration with Marcus Simeone and Lina Koutrakos come about? What’s the engine that drives it?
SH: Marcus and I had a run of shows on the books when his partner died. The decision of whether to keep the engagements or not depended greatly on the input of our dear friend and trusted “Direktress,” Lina. She saw it as medicine for him, and a great opportunity for his audience to share a very real personal moment in time with him. He just had to stay on the rails! She’s the only one that could pull it off, and we all knew it. There was so much trust and very genuine love there all the way around, and a bond that I now cherish dearly formed during that process. We had Lina come up and sing the encore with us each show, and something just clicked there. Sparks. It almost didn’t even need to be discussed, we all just knew that the next shows would be as a trio. So many wonderful things have happened since then, and lots more in the works. The engine that drives it? Love. Love for one another, for the songs, the process of bringing them to life, and the joy of sharing it all.
NLE: When did the guitar first speak to you? Was it your first instrument of choice?
SH: I was about 9 years old when I first started begging my parents for one. They were so concerned about not spoiling me that it took two years for them to get me a $20 Sears & Roebuck student guitar. Guess what—it wasn’t a phase! Within six months I had a weekly gig at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT with a couple other 11-year-olds. Been gigging steadily ever since!
Flipping through my parents record collection as a little kid, I found that while there were a lot of great songs, it was pretty vanilla—Helen Reddy, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Neil Diamond, John Denver, etc. Hell, even the classical was Brahms. (Mom was a huge Elvis fan, though, and Scotty Moore sure got my attention!) There was this one record, though, that stood out: The Astounding 12-String Guitar of Glen Campbell. He played a mean “Puff The Magic Dragon.” I knew that song! That sound went straight to my bones. Then there he was on TV, playing and singing with the likes of Roy Clark and Jerry Reed—I was HOOKED!
And yeah, it’s always been about the guitar. All guitars—electric, acoustic, classical, 12-string, archtops, baritone… The walls in my bedroom were plastered with pages cut out of Guitar Player Magazine. I do love to play electric bass as well, and have been gigging as a bassist since high school (not just a guitarist who owns a bass). In fact, I still fly all over the country to play bass for Craig Taubman. He hands me a guitar once every show, though…
NLE: You’re very technologically savvy. Was that something that came naturally to you, or, pandemic not withstanding, did you come to tech through necessity?
SH: I’m glad you notice that. These days editing and mixing the projects I’m working on is a big slice of my pie, and on live gigs I always end up being the one to interface with the sound engineers, since, having done that job a lot, I speak their language and understand their needs. I then end up translating for the singer and at least some of the other musicians. I also do guitar repairs and setups, having been an assistant to a master luthier back in the 1990s up in Vermont.
It started early. My dad was in engineering and we always made car and airplane models on the kitchen table or train sets, or slot cars, or I watched him in the garage fixing and maintaining the cars, motorcycles, lawnmower, etc. My first electric guitar was at age 11, and I naturally learned how to do basic repairs on it—adjusting the action, fixing or replacing electronics, etc. My first experiences in the recording studio were at fifteen, and my teacher at the time would bring me into his sessions and show me around the console, various signal processing components, and the whole process of capturing and mixing sounds. He encouraged me to have a four-track tape machine at home, and made it clear that at least basic recording skills were essential to having a career in music. (Ability to converse musically in all styles was also on that list—only to grow up to discover you’re supposed to specialize in something and be able to sell it!) But I digress. I’ve always been fascinated by how everything works and just soaked up a lot along the way. I worked in some studios as an assistant engineer, and got my butt kicked doing basic bench-tech work and setting up/tearing down shows for a remote recording/broadcasting company here in New York. So yeah, when I go into a room and there’s one default person running lights and sound, and it’s someone who comes from theatrical lighting without any real sound experience I know I gotta’ roll up sleeves and help the process along.
One good thing that will come out of this pandemic is more singers will have their own microphones. That this is a novel idea has continually astounded me. If the voice is your instrument I would think a microphone would be an essential investment. Perhaps even two—a stage mic and a recording mic. Yes, they’re different. While we’re there—it is not one size fits all! Just because Barbara uses it doesn’t mean it will sound good on you. Every mouth has its own sibilance, and time must be spent finding the right fit. Ignore the price—it could be a top of the line Neumann or a Sure SM58. Or try the Beta 58…
NLE: Your lovely wife is Japanese. How has Japanese culture influenced you as an artist?
SH: My experiences in Japan over the last 20 years have been profound on so many levels—musically, culturally, culinarily, family/friends, spiritually, and, of course, professionally. It’s been so holistic, I don’t know where to begin.
One particular thing that has always fascinated me is how art forms there are an expression of ancient philosophy, usually Buddhist or Shinto, or a combination of the two. It’s never just about doing the thing and declaring that you are one who does this thing—no matter your progress or accomplishments you are always a very small dot on a very long line, with infinitely more to learn and understand. Just like music.
NLE: What’s been the greatest lesson learned for you in this past, challenging year?
SH: That the people in my life are by far and above my greatest treasure. I’ve always known that and often said it, but never before has it been so palpably clear. These days it may feel like living in a vacuum, but then the phone rings. An email comes in. Another project, arrangement, recording, video, mix, guitar repair, or simply a conversation with a friend. These are actual lifelines.
I have always been viscerally aware of my good fortune to be a working musician in New York City. Take that all away and what’s left? Answering that question every day has been a challenge. Pre-pandemic I would have so many moments to reflect—on a subway ride home, walking down the street after a gig, even right there in it on stage or in studios—and I would be overcome with gratitude. “This moment right here, right now, this is wonderful” has been such a common experience. So much so that I often have felt an odd sort of guilt about my career as though I’ve been getting away with something. If so many people endure bland days of compromise, who the hell am I to be so happy? That sort of thing. Yeah, and who does that serve? Anyway, I have come to fully realize that no, I’m not getting away with something, and yes, do keep at it because what we as artists offer is in fact so very necessary, and now more than ever. Those responses from people after a show or the things they share in comments online—they aren’t just empty platitudes or required social protocol. They’re on the level when they tell you how much the experience meant to them. And those are just the ones who express it. This can’t ever stop. The pandemic may have kept us apart, but it can’t keep that magic, that enlightening connection from happening. That will all surely be distilled even further once we get back in the same rooms.
NLE: What goals have you set for yourself in the coming years?
SH: Goals? Was I supposed to set goals? Oops.
Enjoy “I Can See Clearly Now” with Marcus Simeone and Lina Koutrakos. Learn more about Sean at www.seanharkness.com
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