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Barry Harris


fasstrack

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Very interesting article, and it confirms some of my impressions about Harris´ style. He admits that if he plays a Monk composition it sounds more like the way Bud would interprete Monk.

I always had the impression, that Harris sounds very very much like latterday Powell, the Powell from the 60´s after he lived in Paris for some years.

I don´t know if the two men were close, but at least they met on several occasions and exchanged musical ideas. One of those occasions is recorded, where Harris plays some of Bud´s compositions and Bud seems to enjoy it very much. It must have been at the Baroness´ place.....

Then, years later I heard a little record Dexter made in N.Y. in late 1976 "Bitin´ the Apple". I was astonished to hear Harris ´solo on the title tune. It really sounds like Bud in his very last years. The more Monkish touch, the more laidback manner, it sounds so close to 1963, 1964 Bud you might think it´s him if you didn´t know that Bud at that time was dead for 12 years.....

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12 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Very interesting article, and it confirms some of my impressions about Harris´ style. He admits that if he plays a Monk composition it sounds more like the way Bud would interprete Monk.

I always had the impression, that Harris sounds very very much like latterday Powell, the Powell from the 60´s after he lived in Paris for some years.

I don´t know if the two men were close, but at least they met on several occasions and exchanged musical ideas. One of those occasions is recorded, where Harris plays some of Bud´s compositions and Bud seems to enjoy it very much. It must have been at the Baroness´ place.....

Then, years later I heard a little record Dexter made in N.Y. in late 1976 "Bitin´ the Apple". I was astonished to hear Harris ´solo on the title tune. It really sounds like Bud in his very last years. The more Monkish touch, the more laidback manner, it sounds so close to 1963, 1964 Bud you might think it´s him if you didn´t know that Bud at that time was dead for 12 years.....

Agreed, except that Barry has a lighter touch than Bud ever did. On Luminescence, Bean and the Boys tricked me. With Barry grunting a bit the first time I heard it I swore it was Bud.

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22 hours ago, Cyril said:

Thanks for posting, fasstrack. Very good article. I've seen Barry Harris several times during his workshops in The Hague.  

Frans Elsen recorded some videos..... http://www.franselsen.com/?page_id=32 

 

Yes, Frans was a great guy. He and Barry loved each other. (I lived in the Hague briefly twice, so I got to know Frans and other musicians). 

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I was fortunate to grow up in Detroit during the time when so many great musicians lived there. Before they left for New York I heard Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Burrell, Pepper Adams, Curtis Fuller, Yusef Lateef, Hugh Lawson,Sonny Red,  Kirk Lightesy, Terry Pollard, Paul Chambers, Doug Watkins, Elvin Jones, Charles McPherson, Lonnie Hillyer, and  others playing locally.

That early experience was responsible for the fact that players like Barry, Tommy, Pepper, and  Charles McPherson have long been among my handful of favorites on their respective instruments.

 

 

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19 hours ago, Peter Friedman said:

I was fortunate to grow up in Detroit during the time when so many great musicians lived there. Before they left for New York I heard Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Burrell, Pepper Adams, Curtis Fuller, Yusef Lateef, Hugh Lawson,Sonny Red,  Kirk Lightesy, Terry Pollard, Paul Chambers, Doug Watkins, Elvin Jones, Charles McPherson, Lonnie Hillyer, and  others playing locally.

That early experience was responsible for the fact that players like Barry, Tommy, Pepper, and  Charles McPherson have long been among my handful of favorites on their respective instruments.

 

 

Was Teri Thornton in town then?

For those in NY, Barry's 86th birthday party tonight, Dec. 15th at:http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs166/1108970252448/archive/1123188304842.html

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Great party last night. I saw friends from the Hague and everywhere else. Barry performed a little bit, conducted the choir. There were tap dancers as usual. Too many cats for me to make it to the stand, though I was welcomed to play by Pasquale Grasso (already a world class guitarist). Next time.

Barry saw me and gave me a big, emotional hug. That meant a lot to me.

A splendid time was had by all.

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On December 15, 2015 at 11:13 AM, fasstrack said:

Was Teri Thornton in town then?

For those in NY, Barry's 86th birthday party tonight, Dec. 15th at:http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs166/1108970252448/archive/1123188304842.html

I do not recall her being part of the scene. But it was along time ago.

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I created a Barry Harris Top 10 Playlist that I posted on Twitter and Facebook. For those interested, here is the Facebook post: 

-----

Earlier today Ethan Iverson requested that I provide a Barry Harris Top 10 list on Twitter in honor of the maestro's 86th birthday. I thought I'd collect the individual tweets here. I've left everything as is, without filling out the commentary beyond the original tweets (though I have removed the ‪#‎BarryHarris‬ hash tags.) I will note that some of my favorite tracks are not included because they aren't available on YouTube, and I wanted to be able to link to everything on the list. Also, I intentionally limited myself to only one track per recording, and I set aside two spots for sideman appearances. Hard to choose just 10. Nos. 1-5 and 7 are stone-cold locks, but the others might rotate day-to-day with other tracks.

So without further ado.

1. “Donna Lee” from “Vicissitudes” (1972). Duvier/Williams. Killer tempo, remarkable flow. Look out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e992mqzy4YI

2. “Del Sasser” w/Cannonball, Newport, '60. Cannonball sounds great, but Barry wipes everybody out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISkzLXXbOUw

3. "Stay Right With It" ('62). Cranshaw/Jarvis. Med-tempo blues. Nobody swings at this tempo like Barry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXmaCeH9gU4

4. "The Bird of Red & Gold" ('79). Barry sings! His words/music. Romantic melody/harmony. I have tears. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASeEd273SGc

5. "My Heart Stood Still" from "Preminado" ('61). Benjamin/Elvin. Crap piano but fuck it. Jaunty swagger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIy-_AweI0Y

6. "I'll Remember April" from Yusef's "Into Something" ('61). Barry steals the show -- HE trades w/Elvin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK994XfBdM4

7. "Lolita" from "At the Jazz Workshop" ('60) Jones/Hayes. Whole LP kills. Dig piano break/fluidity/SWING. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1FIfShAa0Y

8. "Like Someone in Love" ('76). Jones/Williams. Bud arrangement. Very relaxed. Triplets rule the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXazSjyj0-0

9. "Ray's Idea" from Stitt's "Constellation" ('72). 1 great piano chorus + comping swings like a m.f. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdWDZy2Z_mQ

10. "I'll Keep Loving You" from "Live at Maybeck" ('90), Bud's anthem played solo w/delirious lyricism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WByJP7IzADk

 

Edited by Mark Stryker
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