John Coltrane
tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophonist (1926–1967) who, Barry says, came to his house in Detroit to hear what he was teaching; Barry later complained that every tenor player tried to sound like Coltrane.
- mentions
- 16
- recordings
- 10
- Barry speaking
- 9
What Barry says
Coltrane came to Barry’s house in Detroit wanting to hear what Barry was teaching. Barry let him hear two young players, among them Charles McPherson, who could already play, and says Coltrane took in all his material.
The last train to Monk: an interview8:58unknown (JazzTimes; the byline is missing on the current site), Barry Harris: Teacher Man ¶7
Barry lists Coltrane with Joe Henderson, Sir Roland Hanna, Sonny Red, Donald Byrd and Yusef Lateef among the musicians who came to his house, knowing he would be sitting at the piano.
Ep.3 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harris0:33Victor L. Schermer (interviewer); Barry Harris, Barry Harris: Iconic Jazz Pianist and Keeper of the Flame ¶41
What Barry knew was Bird and his circle, and he says that was all Coltrane knew too. Coltrane decided late in life to take care of business and practised very hard, which pushed Sonny Rollins to do the same.
Barry calls it ridiculous that every tenor player tries to sound like Coltrane, playing the tenor high up like an alto. He points instead to Coleman Hawkins, who found the beauty of the tenor down low.
Jazz schools and the basics1:06Believe: a talk to musicians10:2010:52
Barry names Coltrane with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock as what jam-session players take jazz to be, playing modal music; he does not agree.
Jazz schools and the basics0:00Believe: a talk to musicians1:10
Barry will not let anyone, not even Coltrane, Miles or Herbie Hancock, lead him away from Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell.
Ep.1 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harris0:06
Barry recalls that the Detroit pianist Will Davis had an ending he played at the close of ballads, and that the ending was ‘Giant Steps’: only later, he says, was it made into the tune.
Artists House Master Class Barry Harris - Student Interviews After Concert10:06
In his own words
Coltrane came to my house and wanted to hear what I was teaching took all my stuff
John Coltrane came to my house and wanted to know what I was teaching.
What I knew was Bird and them. That’s all Coltrane knew! [LAUGHS] Coltrane decided late in life to really take care of business.
Every tenor player tried to sound like [John] Coltrane. That’s ridiculous. And they played the tenor like an alto.
I won’t let no one stray me from that. Not even Coltrane, Miles, Herbie Hancock, none of that stuff. That, nothing. I only believe in bird.
Every mention
16 moments in the recordings, 9 of them Barry speaking. Each says who is talking.
The last train to Monk: an interview
- 8:58
Coltrane came to his house to hear his teaching; Barry let him hear young Charles McPherson.
Ep.3 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harris
- 0:33
Lists John Coltrane among the musicians who came to his house.
Jazz schools and the basics
Believe: a talk to musicians
Giant Steps
- 6:54
On ‘Giant Steps’: Coltrane practised the tune a long time.
Ep.1 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harris
- 0:06
Won’t let anyone, not even Coltrane, stray him from Bird, Dizzy and Bud.
Barry Harris2 2
- 16:34
The same speech excerpt in a workshop film, naming John Coltrane.
Barry Harris - 2018-10-14, The Jazz Room, Wayne, NJ
- 1:54
Someone else
Club announcer: on tour through Detroit, Coltrane would stop by Barry’s house for a lesson.
Ep. 20 | Charles McPherson: Meeting Charlie Parker, Studying with Barry Harris, and the Art of Bebop
Detroit Jazz: Ancient to the Future
In the interviews and notes
Asked how he saw the scene around him, since writers cast him as a keeper of the flame, Barry says Bird and his circle were all he knew, and all Coltrane knew too. Coltrane started late and practised very hard, and that pushed Sonny Rollins into doing the same.
Listing the Detroiters who came through his house, Barry adds that Coltrane came and wanted to know what he was teaching; he became a teacher, he says, simply because he knew a little more.
unknown (JazzTimes; the byline is missing on the current site), Barry Harris: Teacher Man ¶7
Asked about Philadelphia musicians, Barry answers that Coltrane came by his house in Detroit.
Victor L. Schermer (interviewer); Barry Harris, Barry Harris: Iconic Jazz Pianist and Keeper of the Flame ¶40Victor L. Schermer (interviewer); Barry Harris, Barry Harris: Iconic Jazz Pianist and Keeper of the Flame ¶41
Charles McPherson recalls that when Miles’s band with Coltrane and Cannonball came to Detroit, Coltrane spent time at Barry’s house, which travelling musicians knew as a place where something was always going on.
Ted Panken (interviewer); Tommy Flanagan, Tommy Flanagan ¶200
McPherson, who spent his teens around Barry’s house, saw Sonny Rollins and Cannonball Adderley there, and was present when Coltrane dropped by asking Barry what he was doing and working on these days.
unknown (JazzTimes; the byline is missing on the current site), Barry Harris: Teacher Man ¶8
Stryker writes that as word of Barry spread, touring musicians took to calling at his Detroit house for informal sessions and study, and that Coltrane, not yet the revolutionary he became, was one of them.
De Lima transcribes Barry’s Almeria speech naming Coltrane with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock as what people take for jazz, and files it under Barry’s criticism of the newer generation.
Recordings that name them
Barry’s performances and records in the archive that credit or name them.
- Barry Harris - 2018-10-14, The Jazz Room, Wayne, NJ2024, 84 min YouTube
- Barry Harris2 2Almería, 2014, 18 min YouTube
- Ep.3 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harrisn.d., 12 min YouTube
- Ep.1 | Everything no one has ever told you about jazz | Barry Harrisn.d., 8 min YouTube
Method ideas nearby
Ideas of the method taught in the classes where they come up, with how many mentions fall in each.
- 0.3Rules matter more than scales; everything by logic2
- 1.4Triplets and thinking in six2
- 11.1Two hands together2
- 11.2Keep the left hand low and make it interesting2
- 12.2Know the song; learn many songs; find your key2
- 15.2Bebop, tradition, and what is wrong with jazz education2
- 2.2The two whole-tone scales (‘man and woman’)2
- 2.3The three diminished seventh chords (‘the children’)2