Barry Harris teaches Giant Steps

[Jazz+]

 

[video:youtube]

[I-missRichardTee]

For my money... Barry Harris ( 89 in December ) is the greatest combination teacher player in jazz.. period.

But I recall the Giant Steps type music, was not his forte... given his strong connection to the previous era.

 

What Barry Harris does do, is unparalleled,, his understanding of Blues, of Charlie Parker and Bud Powell.

He is a master, and ought to be studied by anyone who cares to delve into the deep waters of music we call ( To the Duke's dismay ) jazz.

[Bobadohshe]

I've seen a small part of this video before but not the entire thing. This is wonderful.

[I-missRichardTee]

Bobby, do yourself a favor and check out his videos on YT where he plays Blues, and a Parker solo, where he sings parts of it while playing the best lines.

and talks about "simple chords", and "the and" .

This artist thinker, is an international treasure, and should be acknowledged as such, preferably before he passes on.

 

Barry Harris' understanding of jazz, is deeply involved in a certain period of jazz, that is an amalgam of Blues, Rhythm changes, Be bop.

Players have since departed from this, and in so doing lost what Barry Harris is all about.

In one video he affirms that jazz was all about the dance; saying Bird played in a dance hall, Bud, Monk etc.

The dance aspect is lost

The Blues aspect is lost

and the be bop too.

-------------------------------------------

Check this icon James Moody, regarding those aspects here: Dizzy's band, but the rhythm section is the ultimate in what I am referring to.

and James Moody, plays a solo that encapsulates 50 years of jazz history ... NOT just the tip of the latest iceberg, but the WHOLE history, in this solo.

Jazz Players need to think deeply about tradition in relation to their music. Of course they will, when they will, if they will, which is doubtful.

Look at Ray Brown as James tears it up... all 50 plus years of jazz history. (Recording was in 1985)

 

[video:youtube]

 

Since words are limited, esp my words.. let me add,, When I say players have lost this aspect, I mean the totality of Blues, Rhythm Changes and Be Bop ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

it is the totality that gives Barry and Moody the authority that they possess.

They were fortunate to have lived through the stages of music... but they never let go of the Blues , as they advanced. That is key.

[Bobadohshe]

I will search for the vids. I've been a huge BH fan for a long time. Have transcribed lots of his solos off of 'Luminescence' which is a great late bop album. His playing is so lyrical and boppy at the same time.

[I-missRichardTee]

I will look around.

There is one that will take some time to find.. He is discussing something and all of a sudden, out of nowhere plays some slow blues that totally destroyed me. Then he went right back to whatever it was he was teaching.

 

What do I hear in this video?

I hear Blues

and I hear Be Bop as it was intended, including Bud Powell and Bird.

I hear community as well !

This music will hopefully not be completely lost.

Barry is advanced in age here, but the music is a treasure to me.

 

Jazz has gotten away from too much of this!

 

[video:youtube]

[I-missRichardTee]

[video:youtube]

 

"We had some echoes" learn about ands

them Salsa people....

Jazz, you can't dance to it,, dog"

Jazz people be getting away with murder. you can't dance to it.

 

Dance halls

 

Check out this wisdom

 

[video:youtube]

[jimkost2002]

For my money... Barry Harris ( 89 in December ) is the greatest combination teacher player in jazz.. period.

But I recall the Giant Steps type music, was not his forte... given his strong connection to the previous era.

 

What Barry Harris does do, is unparalleled,, his understanding of Blues, of Charlie Parker and Bud Powell.

He is a master, and ought to be studied by anyone who cares to delve into the deep waters of music we call ( To the Duke's dismay ) jazz.

 

Absolutely the BEST assesment of this video in the proper context. Barry is a GENIUS teacher, master player and an absolutely beautiful and enlightened being!

[Strays Dave]

Tee's quote:

"In one video he affirms that jazz was all about the dance; saying Bird played in a dance hall, Bud, Monk etc.

The dance aspect is lost

The Blues aspect is lost

and the be bop too".

 

Tee, you reminded me of a quote by Ezra Pound which I will share: "Music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance. Poetry begins to atrophy when it departs too far from music".

 

I recently heard a jazz piano student say that she went to a workshop led by BHarris in NYC. This was maybe a couple of weeks ago. She said that Barry was scheduled to appear in London the following week IIRC. Being around 90 years old, I think he's living a musician's dream. Bopping till he drops hopefully.

 

 

[I-missRichardTee]

Tee's quote:

"In one video he affirms that jazz was all about the dance; saying Bird played in a dance hall, Bud, Monk etc.

The dance aspect is lost

The Blues aspect is lost

and the be bop too".

 

Tee, you reminded me of a quote by Ezra Pound which I will share: "Music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance. Poetry begins to atrophy when it departs too far from music".

 

I recently heard a jazz piano student say that she went to a workshop led by BHarris in NYC. This was maybe a couple of weeks ago. She said that Barry was scheduled to appear in London the following week IIRC. Being around 90 years old, I think he's living a musician's dream. Bopping till he drops hopefully.

 

 

I have recently heard a blurb about this iconoclastic person Pound.

Sounds like I should check it out.

Thanks

[RudyS]

Funny, I believe on the background there is Peter Beets as a student. He is now one of the best Dutch piano players. (This is recorded at the conservatory of The Hague in the Netherlands)

[zephonic]

Yes, I sat in on a few of those masterclasses. Always informative and inspiring.

 

They put most of those sessions on Youtube a few years ago, and there was a thread about it here, then: https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2611263/Re_Barry_Harris_Masterclass_Vi#Post2611263

 

[RudyS]

Did you study at the conservatory of The Hague Menno?

[zephonic]

No, Rotterdam. But I lived in The Hague, and many of my friends were there, so I could always get in. Come to think of it, I probably spent more time at the Royal Conservatory than in Rotterdam, lol.

 

Funny thing, Peter Beets and I share our birthday with Chick Corea, but Peter is one year older than me.

 

 

[Legatoboy]

Sat right behind him at the Village Vanguard a few summers back in NYC...boy was that worth the trek into Madhatten from the Long Island!

[synthizen2]

I attended one of his masterclasses in the late 90s, at the insistence of my then-girlfriend, who also happened to know the guy. It was a fantastic experience, and the guy is as eloquent and forthright as they come.

 

Another teacher of mine (for more than just a masterclass!) was Kenny Barron, with whom I attended one-on-one classes at Rutgers for about 3 years. Kenny's style is a little more understated: he comes from the Hank Jones / Tommy Flanagan school of piano jazz... a style that is equally valid in the jazz tradition, and equally "forgotten" by a lot of modern jazz artists.

[George88]

I attended one of his masterclasses in the late 90s, at the insistence of my then-girlfriend, who also happened to know the guy. It was a fantastic experience, and the guy is as eloquent and forthright as they come.

 

Another teacher of mine (for more than just a masterclass!) was Kenny Barron, with whom I attended one-on-one classes at Rutgers for about 3 years. Kenny's style is a little more understated: he comes from the Hank Jones / Tommy Flanagan school of piano jazz... a style that is equally valid in the jazz tradition, and equally "forgotten" by a lot of modern jazz artists.

 

Studied one on one with Kenny Barron? I cannot imagine. He is an absolute favorite of mine. Please, PM and share..

[J_tour]

That's probably my favorite of the Barry Harris videos. No matter how many hard drives have failed over the years, I always make sure to have a copy of that YouTube video somewhere.

 

Ive been meaning to transcribe his little line over the changes for a few years: I'm sure he meant it as just a throw-away, "Well, just play it like anyother tune, you lazy bas*ards!"

 

But it's certainly the way I try to improvise when once in a really long while I drag out "Giant Steps" or "Countdown" or one of those.

 

Except he does it better. Like, it actually is the way it's supposed to sound, at least for my tastes.

 

Not the way people play it, necessarily, but it's the way I like it to sound. Just make a nice bebop melody, forget about everything else.

[Sam McDermott]

Barry is absolutely the man. His playing on Donna Lee off of Vicissitudes blows me away. It's one thing to be an incredible player, but it's another thing to be an incredible player AND an incredible educator, which he so clearly is based on all the YouTube videos I've watched. And seriously isn't he just one of the coolest dudes?

[Docbop]

I've heard Barry and others who know that era use the term "the hinge", and Barry say it in the end section of the video. Can someone explain "the hinge" is it some kind of pivot or connecting point???

 

 

Also interesting is John Coltrane wrote Giant Steps as a practice exercise for himself that ended up being recorded, but Coltrane only played Giant Steps live once. Part of Coltrane exploration came from that drawing found after his death of what looks like a CoF, but has additional inner and outer rings. Sadly there were no notes or comments left by Coltrane on this drawing. There are a number of articles on it on the internet. Some say this came after Coltrane and Ornette Coleman spend some time with Sun Ra and both became interesting in astrology and numerology. Coltrane mentally and musicially was a constant explorer.

[Jazz+]

Where in the video does he say it?

[uhoh7]

Here is a young piano player who has a great concise series on Barry's method:

 

 

 

[uhoh7]

Tee's quote:

"In one video he affirms that jazz was all about the dance; saying Bird played in a dance hall, Bud, Monk etc.

The dance aspect is lost

The Blues aspect is lost

and the be bop too".

 

Tee, you reminded me of a quote by Ezra Pound which I will share: "Music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance. Poetry begins to atrophy when it departs too far from music".

 

 

Basically Bebop was just what those guys had been doing after hours for years. A jam session with competitive edge. Once it started to feature in "white" hours, "no dancing" signs appeared in some of the key clubs.

 

By the time we get to "kind of blue" Armstrong and Bill Robinson come across as Minstrel mimes to young African Americans, and the singers have come to dominate alot of commercial "Jazz". Nearly every major player is addicted to heroin, and the civil rights movement is really fired up.

 

To me Miles and much post bop is a reflection of that state of mind. "Modern Jazz" was a cultural appropriation of the term, both by a faction of dis-affected black players, the young "beat" hipsters, and soon, academics looking for some theory to sell.

 

The result is the term "Jazz" no longer has a meaning. It's only defined by what it isn't.

 

Meanwhile black dance music was not to be stopped. It could be simpler...why? Sheet music sales no longer was a major factor. In the 30's TONS of people still actually played. The radio had not totally killed the Piano at home. By the late 50's it was really dead. So the far more clever and complex music the pre-war Jazz greats loved lost a fan base who could tell what it was.

 

But the Lindy Hop lived on and soon lost all pretense of order: rock and roll. The new complexity was in sound production and branding. Like now, LOL.

 

Barry calls BS on the theft of Jazz, though to be fair, by the time Cannonball brought him to NYC, it was long dead, and only the scattered survivors who were there could remember what it was. But Barry learned to play with those survivors, and in the same way they had learned.

 

Recent studies show humans are especially excited by harmony. Way more than other monkeys. Barry loves Bach and his harmonies. The harmonies behind Jazz are a logical extension of Bach. Modern Jazz......not so much.

 

Modes, like so much of "classical theory", are a jumbled mess of varied ideas and sources, which are more useful as "teaching material" than learning to play. When you look deeper into how the modes appeared in "Jazz Theory", it's an after the fact way to try to explain what players who did not think like that, had not learned like that, were doing. There's no there there.

 

Barry is still with us, TYG.

 

 

[uhoh7]

For those Barry Harris followers on the lookout for material which really helps develop his ideas:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423412494/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

That is one incredible keyboard book. It's really meant to help Jazz players or classical players adapt to Gospel. No holds barred. The author has "been there", and it has that "Barry" flavor of ideas distilled from real experience as opposed to theory. No modes and few scales.

 

Most is about how to understand and work harmony in Gospel, and right from the start "Music is movement". It's not long before the dimminished chords start to play a key role.

[Jazz+]

Hi Cindy, welcome to the forum. What are your piano interests?