Barry HarrisThe method

Tunes he taught

All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm

Barry played All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm often in concert, and in a 1998 Hague workshop he used it to show that a soloist can run down from the top of the piano and keep the line right by putting half steps in the right places.

moments in class
4
recordings
3
Barry plays it
15

What he teaches through it

Soloing, he says, comes down to putting a half step in at the right time and in the right place. To show it he picks this tune: he starts high on the piano and keeps running down through it, adding half steps wherever they are needed so that everything comes out right.

The 1998 workshop, part 128:3329:0529:3930:19

In his own words

You got to put a half step in at the right time with the right place. You start the top of the piano. I start the top of the piano and put a half step in.

The 1998 workshop, part 1, The Hague, 1989–98. 1998 Hague workshop, just before he demonstrates on All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm. 28:33 Watch on YouTube at 28:33

I can just keep running, and a half step has got to be put in there somewhere to make everything come out right, no matter what you do

The 1998 workshop, part 1, The Hague, 1989–98. While running down through the tune at the piano. 30:16 Watch on YouTube at 30:16

right now we’re gonna play, assuming that all God’s children have rhythm, we’re going to play All God’s Children Got Rhythm. We assume this.

Barry Harris Trio - 2005-07-08, North Sea Jazz Festival, Netherlands. Announcing the tune at the 2005 North Sea Jazz Festival. 17:02 Watch on YouTube at 17:02

In class

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

The 1998 workshop, part 1

The Hague, 1989–98

  1. 28:33

    Soloing is putting a half step in at the right time; he picks this tune to demonstrate.

    5.1

    Watch on YouTube at 28:33

  2. 29:39

    Runs down from the top of the piano through the tune, adding half steps to come out right.

    5.1

    Watch on YouTube at 29:39

All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm

The Hague, 1989–98

  1. 0:00

    Short Hague workshop clip on the tune; the captions are too broken to follow what he teaches.

    Watch on YouTube

Barry Harris at the Jazz Workshop in Rome, “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm”, September 24th 2010

Rome, 2010–19

  1. 1:30

    Short clip from his 2010 Rome workshop: the tune is sung, but the captions do not show who sings.

    Watch on YouTube at 1:30

Barry plays it

In the method

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

  1. 5.1Why add a note2