‘That Thing You Said’ is a bebop-style melody line that I composed on the chord changes to Cole Porter’s ‘What Is This Thing Called Love’. (Thanks to jazz singer Linda Oats for coming with the tune’s title after hearing it on a gig where I solicited name suggestions.) It is inspired by the melodic language of the great pianist and educator Barry Harris, particularly his solos on ‘Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby‘ and ‘Woody N’ You’ from the album Barry Harris At The Jazz Workshop. It is also based a scale outline of ‘What Is This Thing Called Love’ which I made following Barry Harris concepts. For more on Barry’s concept of the minor ii-V-i progression, see my post ‘What Is This Scale Called?’. A solo piano recording that I made of the tune can be heard here. My solo version has a samba feel inspired by Fred Hersch’s piece Duet, which he originally recorded solo but which he has more recently reworked as a duet with guitarist Julian Lage. However, ‘That Thing You Said’ can also work in swing feel. In the tradition of Benny Harris’s ‘Ornithology’ and ‘Reets and I’, Miles Davis’s ‘Donna Lee’ and Dizzy Gillespie’Groovin’ High’, all of which work as countermelodies to the tunes from which their progressions are borrowed, I composed ‘That Thing You Said’ as a countermelody to ‘What Is This Thing’. (Also in the tradition of the aforementioned tunes, however, I do not use it this way in my recording.) I hope you enjoy listening to and/or practicing this tune, and I welcome comments of any kind in the comment section. 
