Thomas Wendt’s Off Minor Series returns this fall to celebrate and honor jazz legend Barry Harris. The performance will include an iconic trio of jazz musicians, featuring local artists Paul Thompson on bass and Thomas Wendt on percussion, as well as New York based pianist Michael Weiss. Michael returns to the Alphabet City stage to perform a set full of music written by or for Barry Harris, his mentor and teacher. The trio will also perform several of Master Harris’ favorite compositions by Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell.

Barry Harris (December 15, 1929—December 8, 2021) was an 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. Thelonious Monk, a close friend, and Charlie Parker are considered to be among Harris’s chief influences.

Save the date! Tom Wendt’s “Off Minor” will be back again this fall on Thursday, November 14th and Thursday, December 12th.