Joe Harriott (1928-1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he is now widely acknowledged as one of the worldwide pioneers of free jazz.

Born Joseph Arthurlin Harriott on 15th July 1928 in Kingston, Jamaica, he was educated at Kingston's famed Alpha Boys School, which produced a number of prominent Jamaican musicians. He moved to the U.K. as a working musician in 1951, and lived in the country until his death on 2nd January 1973 in Southampton, Hampshire.

Harriott was part of a wave of Caribbean jazz musicians who arrived in Britain during the 1950s, including Dizzy Reece, Harold McNair, Harry Beckett, and Wilton Gaynair. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.