By Andrew Poretz . . . .

Guitarist and composer Sean Harkness is one of the most talented musicians you’ll ever hear, and a rather humble fellow with a sweet nature. An impeccable guitarist, he is a virtuoso in many genres. A sought-after accompanist and sideman on club dates and recordings, Harkness has a number of fine recordings under his own name. He also has a rock cover band, The Unusual Suspects.  

Harkness recently began what he hopes will be a monthly stand at Don’t Tell Mama, an entirely solo and quite intimate set of diverse material and personal stories. This writer attended his second July show on the 27th, an extremely early (4 pm) set in the Brick Room. (Any earlier, and it could have been a brunch set, which is not a bad idea.)

The show’s title suggested Harkness might play the jazz standard “Just You, Just Me” (Jesse Greer/Raymond Klages), but that song did not make it into the show. He had a fun opening playing brief riffs, and waiting for reactions from the audience. As a completely solo performer here, Harkness had to supply comp chords, melodies, intricate rhythms, and occasional percussion (by tapping on the instrument). (He has only two hands, but at times, you might think he had an extra pair of them.) He also sang on a number of the songs.

Harkness’s first two songs, including Todd Rundgren’s “Hello It’s Me,” were in keys that seemed a bit too low for his voice. As he opened up about his life, Harkness revealed he’d been playing since the age of 11. (A couple of his grade school friends were present for the set.) His off-the-cuff stories were endearing and sometimes funny.

The instrumental “Bright Tomorrows,” an original written in an improv with a percussionist, had catchy riffs and a good musical hook. It has the potential of a hit song with the right lyrics.

An interesting highlight was The Doors’ “People Are Strange” (Jim Morrison and Robbie Krieger), a song he does with The Unusual Suspects. This version was almost a cowboy song, and had a suitably “strange” ending.

Harkness told a terrific and introspective story about meeting an actor and singer in Amsterdam (David Moody) led to an epiphany on “bringing all the things you are to life.” He honored this musical dividing line in his life with, naturally, “All The Things You Are” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II), a song Jonathan Schwartz has called the most perfect song ever written. Harkness performed this rangy masterpiece as a soft ballad that fit his light voice.

An original, “Summer Solstice,” was Harkness’s first Windham Hill release, a beautiful instrumental. His unadorned solo turn here was lovely. (You can hear his recording here.)

“If you told me back then that I would ever like this song, let alone sing it, I would have laughed,” Harkness declared, before performing the rather unlikely choice of The Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love,” from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Like a great jeweler does with a diamond in the rough, Harkness’s playing and singing here revealed a hidden beauty in this heretofore pop fluff of a song. It was fantastic!

Harkness, an engaging storyteller, told a funny, heartwarming story about his trip to Okinawa, Japan to meet his then-girlfriend (now wife) Takako’s family and his surprise bonding with a major Japanese musician (Rinken Teruya of Rinken Band fame). (The entire saga appears on Sean’s old blog page, here.) Harkness played his beautiful original, “Kalahaai Sunrise,” from “Urakaji,” the album he recorded for Rinken.

The set closed with a cool and brilliant instrumental rendition of “A Hard Day’s Night” (John Lennon and Paul McCartney), which had Harkness “scat doubling” – vocalizing the same notes he was playing, a la John Pizzarelli). With a little prodding, Harkness returned for one more, “We Shall Overcome.” After describing deep conversations percussionist Jeff Haynes had with the legendary Pete Seeger, Harkness become too emotional to sing this powerful anthem, providing instead a gorgeous instrumental to close the show.

This was a wonderful set, and a fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

For more information about Sean Harkness, visit https://seanharkness.wordpress.com. For more great shows at Don’t Tell Mama, visit https://donttellmamanyc.com.

Photos: Andrew Poretz