Louis Jordan

singer, alto saxophone, bandleader

Singer, alto saxophonist and bandleader whose jump-blues records were hugely popular in the 1940s; Barry names him with Nat King Cole as one of “the majors” he and his friends loved listening to when they were young.

mentions: 0
recordings: 0
Barry speaking: 0

What Barry says

Remembering the house parties and rhythm and blues gigs of his youth, Barry says he and his friends had a great deal of fun listening to Louis Jordan and Nat King Cole.

Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶223Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶227

When the interviewer remarks that Jordan was a major figure, Barry agrees at once and puts Nat King Cole beside him: the two of them, he says, were the majors. He sums up that there were plenty of good musicians to listen to then.

Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶228Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶229

In his own words

Oh man we had so much fun listening to Louis Jordan, Nat King Cole.

Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program. Smithsonian oral history, on the music of his youth ¶227

Oh yeah. Nat King Cole, they were the majors.

Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program. Agreeing that Louis Jordan was a major figure ¶229

Every mention

0 moments in the recordings, 0 of them Barry speaking. Each says who is talking.

In the interviews and notes

Barry, Smithsonian oral history 2010 Barry, in his own words
Describing the house parties, shake dancers and rhythm and blues gigs of his youth, Barry recalls how much he and his friends enjoyed Louis Jordan and Nat King Cole, and agrees with the interviewer that Jordan and Cole were the majors.
Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶227Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶228Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶229
Brian de Lima, doctoral thesis 2017 A scholar
De Lima quotes Barry’s reply in a table of his statements under major influences and role models, folding the interviewer’s mention of Jordan into Barry’s words; his summary then names Jordan and Cole among the role models Barry listened to a lot.
Brian Jude de Lima, Reanimating Dissonance: Cultivating the Antecedents of Barry Harris’ Concept of Movement as a Multidimensional Pedagogical Tool for Ontario Post-Secondary Jazz Curricula ¶658Brian Jude de Lima, Reanimating Dissonance: Cultivating the Antecedents of Barry Harris’ Concept of Movement as a Multidimensional Pedagogical Tool for Ontario Post-Secondary Jazz Curricula ¶688