I ‘ve never really worked with Barry Harry. He hates ships and has always had a slew of records in print, so there was no reason to bother him about being part of a festival at sea or to undertake a recording project. For as long as I can remember he’s been one of the most respected pianists in jazz so I was content to listen to him in performance or on recordings. In 1998, however, I spent some time with him during the rehearsals for and performance of Clint Eastwood – After Hours. My friend, Bruce Ricker, who co-produced the event with George Wein, had asked Arthur Elgort and myself to be still photographers for the concert and we both used up a lot of film on the job.

The rehearsals for the concert were held for three days at SIR studios, and because there were piano duets on the program, two large Steinways were in place. At one point, the two keyboards were close to one another, Barry sat down, told me he’d always wanted to play two grands at once, and I snapped this picture. A few days later, during the dress rehearsal at Carnegie Hall, I saw Barry sitting on a piano bench studying a score. I liked that picture as much as the two piano oddity.

In 2010, Barry remains a remarkable pianist and in the forefront of jazz education. On May 16th he paid tribute to John Bunch at a memorial service at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church and a month later on June 26th he did the same for Hank Jones at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church. Each of these guys had a decade or more on Barry and both jokes about being the oldest living active jazz pianist. There are a number of people ahead of Barry, but let’s hope that one day he is.