Ep. 80 | Isaac Raz on Barry Harris, Bebop Principles & the Future of Jazz Learning

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In Episode 80 of the HMA Podcast, I speak with pianist, composer, arranger, educator, and Barry Harris disciple Isaac Raz. Isaac holds degrees from Berklee and Lehman College, scored an Emmy-winning documentary, worked with legendary producer Teo Macero, and is a passionate teacher of the Barry Harris method.

In this deep conversation, Isaac explains:
• His musical beginnings
• How Berklee shaped—and limited—his early jazz development
• His transformative 8 years studying with Barry Harris
• The real logic behind the bebop language
• Why Barry’s system is a complete, elegant musical universe
• How the method connects to harmony, improvisation, six-diminished theory, and even partimento
• Practical insight for anyone who wants to actually get good at jazz

Check out Isaac’s YouTube channel Whole Music LLC for in-depth Barry Harris content.

Subscribe for more interviews with the world’s top improvisers, theorists, educators, and composers.

Chapters:
00:00 Introducing Isaac Raz
01:21 Early musical upbringing & Suzuki beginnings
02:22 Perfect pitch? Isaac’s take
03:11 Berklee years — strengths and limitations
05:01 Struggles with chord-scale thinking in real playing
05:53 Discovering the Barry Harris workshop
06:47 First impressions of Barry’s legendary Tuesday class
08:59 How Barry evaluates seriousness & students rise in the “circle”
09:52 Who is Barry Harris? Keeper of the bebop flame
12:06 Why Barry believed bebop never reached its full potential
13:48 Understanding jazz through linear harmony, not modes
17:03 What to practice before entering Barry’s class
18:53 Tapping on 1 & 3 — the rhythmic foundation
19:46 How Barry teaches improvisation (scale outlines & half-step rules)
23:18 The 6-diminished system explained
27:00 Barry’s “Einstein approach” — reducing bebop to core principles
32:01 How Barry developed bebop ideas beyond Bud & Bird
33:41 The “diminished genealogy” — the origin story of the system
41:16 Using 6-chord rules & modern voicings in harmony
45:10 Barry’s big band/choral writing and his massive hidden archive
51:34 Why direct exposure to masters matters
52:25 How beginners should really learn jazz today
55:26 Isaac on partimento & parallels with Barry Harris
58:49 Closing thoughts & why both systems converge