A talented drummer, Winard Harper started his jazz career in the 1980s with Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, and with Betty Carter for four years. While working with Carter he met Wycliffe Gordon, with whom Harper would collaborate repeatedly.
From 1988 to 1993 he worked with his brother, trumpeter Philip Harper, in the group The Harper Brothers, alongside Justin Robinson, Javon Jackson, Walter Blanding, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Stephen Scott, Kevin Hays, Michael Bowie, and Nedra Wheeler.
After the dissolution of the Harper brothers, Winard recorded several albums as a leader. In the early 2000s he worked with his sextet and performed at Lincoln Center in New York City. He played with Avery Sharpe in 2008. He leads the group Jeli Posse.
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