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Barry Harris Biography

barry-harris
  • Born: December 15, 1929 in Detroit, MI
  • Years Active: 1950s-2000s
  • Genre: Jazz

One of the major bop pianists of the last half of the 20th century, Barry Harris has long had the ability to sound very close to Bud Powell, yet he can also do convincing impressions of Thelonious Monk and has his own style within the bop idiom. He was an important part of the Detroit jazz scene of the 1950s, and has been a jazz educator since that era. Harris recorded his first set as a leader while in 1958, and moved to New York in 1960, where he spent a short period with Cannonball Adderley's Quintet. He also recorded with Dexter Gordon, Illinois Jacquet, Yusef Lateef, and Hank Mobley, and was with Coleman Hawkins off and on throughout the decade (including Hawk's declining years). In the 1970s, Harris was on two of Sonny Stitt's finest records (Tune Up and Constellation), and made many recordings in a variety of settings for Xanadu. Barry Harris has mostly worked with his trio since the mid-'70s, and he has recorded as a leader for Argo (1958), Riverside, Prestige, MPS, Xanadu, and Red. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

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