Johannes Brahms
composer (classical)
German Romantic composer; Barry names him with Chopin, Bach and Liszt as composers who learned to improvise, and with Bach and Beethoven as the kind of composer concert halls play, while he plays Bird, Bud and Monk.
- mentions
- 4
- recordings
- 4
- Barry speaking
- 3
What Barry says
Barry names Brahms with Chopin, Bach and Liszt among the classical composers who learned to improvise. Calling jazz the continuation of classical music, he says jazz musicians are simply trying to improvise the way they did.
Ep.1 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harris0:060:54
From the bandstand he argues that if concert halls play Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, he can play Bird, Bud and Monk. A jazz musician’s concert, he says, should include their tunes, to prove he can really play, since anyone can play his own originals.
Barry Harris Trio - 2005-07-08, North Sea Jazz Festival, Netherlands35:38Barry Harris Live In Rennes40:2240:55
In his own words
I believe if you go to the concert in the concert hall and they play Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, I don’t see why I can’t play Bird.
you go to the symphony hall they play Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Chopin, a whole lot of people. See, when I play I play Bud Powell, I play Bird, I play Monk.
we are trying to find out how to [improvise] like Chopin did, like Bach did, like Brahms did, like Liszt did, all of them, they learnt how to improvise.
Every mention
4 moments in the recordings, 3 of them Barry speaking. Each says who is talking.
Barry Harris Trio - 2005-07-08, North Sea Jazz Festival, Netherlands
- 35:38
If concert halls play Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, Barry can play Bird.
Barry Harris Live In Rennes
- 40:22
Symphony halls play Beethoven, Bach, Brahms and Chopin; Barry plays Bud, Bird and Monk.
Ep.1 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harris
- 0:54
Jazz musicians try to improvise as Chopin, Bach, Brahms and Liszt did.
Detroit Jazz: Ancient to the Future
- 42:51
Someone else
A Detroit musician and arts organiser recalls jazz being judged never as great as Beethoven, Bach or Brahms.
In the interviews and notes
A forum member who attended Barry’s classes says Barry’s harmony owes something to what he saw in Chopin. He himself always thinks of Brahms, but Barry never mentioned Brahms in the classes he went to.
García-Valdecasas argues that Barry’s theory fits Romantic harmony, citing recurring chromatic features in Chopin, Brahms and Liszt, such as appoggiaturas that Barry’s theory links to diminished chords.
Recordings that name them
Barry’s performances and records in the archive that credit or name them.