Joining Mr. Harris were trio mates Don Thompson on bass, and Leroy Williams on drums — two very tasty musicians indeed. Drummer Williams is so musical and precise that you can hear treble, mid-range, and bass lines in his finesse playing; and Toronto's multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson proved to be, once again, a ceaselessly lyrical, supportive, and singing voice on the acoustic bass.
The educator part of Barry Harris stepped forward in "6-2-5", a swinging bit of audience participation and creation. After accepting the numbers shouted out from the audience, 6 ... 2 ... 5, Harris translated these numbers into note intervals and taught us to sing this melody and clap out a 1 / 1-1 rhythm. Harris even had us modulating into different keys. It sounded Brazilian. It was fun to s(w)ing along, just for a minute, with Harris-Thompson-Williams.
To cap this number, the wry Harris announced that the audience wouldn't receive any residuals for the writing of this song, "6-2-5". "We'll treat the audience the same as record companies treat us. They give us nothing." (WHEW!)
Throughout this Sunday afternoon, the Barry Harris trio was smooth, poised, and agreeably articulate in their improvisations. Whether backing Howard Johnson's imaginative tuba soloing on "What's New?"; carefully spacing out notes in Monk's "Well, You Needn't"; or letting their emotions come right out in "These Memories Remind Me of You", this Barry Harris trio played sounds that were just right for this Sunday afternoon.
