Barry HarrisThe method

Tunes he taught

East of the Sun

East of the Sun was a song Barry recorded and played in concert over many years, and a clip from Rome in March 2017 has it sung in what sounds like a class. On Piano Jazz he told the story of its composer before playing it as a duet with Marian McPartland. No class was found in which he works on its harmony or lines.

moments in class
3
recordings
2
Barry plays it
7

What he teaches through it

A clip filmed in Rome in March 2017, when he was giving a masterclass there, has the tune sung with piano; the captions are mostly the lyric. At the end a voice, probably Barry’s, says they now have the song they were supposed to be learning.

Barry Harris - East of the sun0:023:09

Before playing it on Piano Jazz he shared what he had found out about its composer: Brooks Bowman wrote it, with a couple of other songs, for an event while he was at Princeton, and that was about all he wrote.

Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland30:3931:14

He admitted he rarely knows who wrote a song, but said that, since he has had his singers, he knows the lyrics to so many songs. Asked how he picks songs, he described closing his eyes and opening a songbook at random.

Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland31:1431:48

In his own words

And they had one of their events where they had music, and he wrote East of the Sun. His name was Brooks Bowman, and I think that’s all he wrote.

Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland, USA (NPR), 2002. Piano Jazz, 2002, introducing the duet with Marian McPartland 31:14 Watch on YouTube at 31:14

Since I have these singers, I’m getting so I know the lyrics to so many songs. It’s like I really do know lyrics, but I still don’t know composers.

Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland, USA (NPR), 2002. Same show, on why composers’ names escape him 31:49 Watch on YouTube at 31:49

In class

Every moment he works on it, with the ideas of the method it shows.

Barry Harris - East of the sun

  1. 0:02

    Rome 2017: the tune is sung with piano; a voice then says it is the song they were meant to learn.

    12.1

    Watch on YouTube at 0:02

Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland

USA (NPR), 2002

  1. 31:14

    Piano Jazz: Brooks Bowman wrote it for a Princeton event and wrote little else.

    Watch on YouTube at 31:14

  2. 31:48

    Thanks to his singers he knows lyrics, if not composers; he picks songs by opening a songbook at random.

    12.2

    Watch on YouTube at 31:48

Barry plays it

In the method

The ideas of the method these moments show, and how many moments each.

  1. 12.1Everybody sings1
  2. 12.2Know the song; learn many songs; find your key1