Everette Harp is the youngest of eight children. His father was a minister and his mother played the organ. Gospel music was one of his earliest influences. He started playing jazz in middle school at Marshall Junior High under the tutelage of drummer Buddy Smith. He attended the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston under the direction of Robert "Doc" Morgan", then
North Texas State University as a music major in the early 1980s. While there he joined
Phi Beta Sigma. Working as an accountant for a short time, Harp played in local Houston bands, most notably a jazz/funk group called The Franchise which released an album locally with the first recording of Harp's "There's Still Hope" in 1987. In 1988 he moved to Los Angeles and toured briefly with
Teena Marie and then
Anita Baker. Two years later
George Duke signed him to a contract with
Capitol Records to record with his group 101 North.
Bruce Lundvall of
Blue Note Records signed Harp to a solo contract before the group album was released. Harp's album was produced by Duke and released by Blue Note in 1992. Harp appeared at the
Montreux Jazz Festival as a featured guest artist presented by Duke. He appeared every week on
The Arsenio Hall Show. His appearance on
Sax by the Fire, produced by
John Tesh, led to his performing on the theme song for
Entertainment Tonight, produced by and starring Tesh. He also played on the theme song for
Soul Train and shared the stage with President Bill Clinton at the Arkansas Ball in 1992. Harp worked with
Stanley Clarke,
Natalie Cole,
Neil Diamond,
Aretha Franklin,
Wayne Henderson,
Al Jarreau,
The Jazz Crusaders,
Billy Joel,
Chaka Khan,
Kenny Loggins,
Bobby Lyle,
Peter Maffay,
Marcus Miller,
Chante Moore,
Dianne Reeves,
Eros Ramazzotti,
Brenda Russell,
Joe Sample, and
Luther Vandross. He continued his television and studio recording obligations and his solo recording career. During the 1990s he became a staple in the Los Angeles TV and recording studio scene, showing up on many recordings becoming a favorite of such producers as
Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds,
Peter Wolf,
Peter Asher and Barry Eastmond. He appeared on several television shows, including
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and with Jay Leno,
The Arsenio Hall Show, and
The Tavis Smiley Show. In later years Harp reduced his side gigs to focus on his solo career. Harp collaborated with guitarist
Chuck Loeb and keyboardist
Jeff Lorber and formed a group Jazz Funk Soul. The trio has released two studio albums,
Jazz Funk Soul in 2014 and
More Serious Business in 2016. Loeb died of cancer on July 31, 2017, at the age of 61. ==Discography==