Rant & Dawdle A Collection of Writing, Photography & Music

Number Two: Café des Copains

Barry Harris: Solo Piano [March 1985]
The Café des Copains was located at 48 Wellington Street E., Toronto, Ontario (1977 – 1991)

Barry Harris , (born December 15, 1929, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.), American jazz pianist, composer, and educator who, as a musician, became known for his virtuosity, marked by complex chord structures and speed of play. An exponent of the bebop style that became popular after World War II, he played with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Yusuf Lateef, Coleman Hawkins, Cannonball Adderley, Dexter Gordon, and Sonny Stitt, among many other musicians. Thelonius Monk, a close friend, and Charlie Parker are considered to be among Harris’s chief influences. [From Wikipedia]

Listen To Barry Harris – Solo Piano
July 1961 [Riverside RLP 9392]
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0q2VleZJVEk-jT0DbJHjU2yH6b0UMjcG

The Café des Copains was a popular “piano bar” where for the price of a drink one could hang out all night, three sets of a variety of great jazz piano player. Among them Jay McShann, Sammy Price, Ralph Sutton, Harold Mabern, Ronnie Matthews, Junior Mance. Many recordings from the Café des Copains were released on Sackville Recordings. The room was booked by my partner of many years, John Norris, who passed into the spirit world in January 2010.

End Notes:
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