Past Awardees
1996 Living Legacy Award Recipient
Barry Harris
Pianist Barry Harris was the 1996
recipient of the Living Legacy Jazz Award.
Since 1960,
Mr. Harris has been a resident of the mid-Atlantic
region (originally from New York and currently Weehawken,
NJ). As a recording artist, he can be heard on CD's
both as a leader and sideman. His innovative and fluid
performance style has inspired critics to call him
the "Keeper of the BeBop Flame."
Over the
years, Harris has played with many of the greats such
as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dexter
Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Max Roach, and been particularly
influenced by pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk.
He has been a frequent winner in the DownBeat Annual
Critics and Readers Polls, and in 1989, was awarded
the Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment
for the Arts. But it has been his stature among his
fellow musicians that is the most impressive statistic
of all. When speaking of Harris, musicians young and
old describe a simple man with an abundance of talent,
patience and goodwill - whose lifetime has been committed
to continuing the legacy of jazz through his personal,
one-on-one contribution of time, resources and talent.
Barry
Harris was born in Detroit during what are called the "golden
years of jazz" and
began playing the piano at age four. He led his own
combos in high
school and was soon sought after as an accompanist
by jazz stars who came to town without a band. He developed
his own theory of jazz instruction, and by the age
of twenty had several students, among them Yusef Lateef
and Joe Henderson. In 1960, he joined Cannonball Adderly's
band and moved from his Detroit home to New York City.
In
1982, Harris founded the Jazz Cultural Workshop in
New York City, a venue where jazz musicians could
go and study in the tradition. With a true commitment
to the music, Harris created a spot that did not serve
alcohol so that young people could attend as well.
Despite ongoing financial challenges, the Jazz Cultural
Workshop is still going strong with classes on Monday
and Tuesday nights. The cover charge is only $7 and
the program lends assistance to anyone that walks through
its doors. Harris continues to personally work with
each artist - building an appreciation in the music
for beginners, developing phrasing skills for singers,
working on accompaniment for pianists, and honing improvisation
techniques for horns.
On the subject of teaching jazz,
Barry Harris is eloquent, "Teachers
should teach where they came from, not where they are.
They tell you that life is complex and you have to
suffer to give of yourself, and that's not true. Life
is very simple, and if you simply live and simply learn
to play, you'll really give." The New York Times
identifies Harris as one of the living masters of jazz
piano and a one man jazz academy.
www.barryharris.com
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