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Gene Harris
During the decades since rising to fame with the Three Sounds in the early 1960's, pianist Gene Harris always stuck true to his singular musical vision…the blues. A masterful pianist with a titanic technique, Harris' every chorus radiated the blues. His solos were melodic, accessible and swinging yet quite sophisticated and full of personal ideas, his own chord voicings, flavored with the church. While the listener has a good idea what to expect from a Gene Harris record, the pianist never fails to surprise.
Gene Harris was born September 1, 1933 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where he was first attracted to music when he was four. Locally, Harris was attracted to the music of bandleader Charles Metcalf's group and was inspired to try to pick out songs on the piano. Harris also enjoyed the music he heard in church and the boogie- woogie records of his parents (one can detect Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons all over Harris' playing). Swing, gospel and blues combined in a humid eutectoid to form the rue of his piano style.
Harris quickly developed as a pianist, having many opportunities to play music while serving in the Army (1951 - 54). Following his discharge he originally formed the Four Sounds, who by 1956 abandoned their original plan to include a tenor-saxophonist and renamed themselves the Three Sounds. Joining Harris in the original line up of the band was bassist Andy Simpkins (1932 - 1999) and drummer Bill Dowdy (b. 1933).
For the next 15 years, the trio made many notable recordings for Blue Note and other labels as well as supporting such musicians as Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt, among others. In 1973, the Three Sounds disbanded, leaving Harris to pursue a solo career from which he retired to Boise, Idaho in 1977 where he continued to perform locally.
Harris' retirement was short lived, coming to an end when the pianist was asked by vibraphonist Milt Jackson to join him on the recording Soul Route (Pablo, 1984/2002). This led to Harris' fruitful collaboration with bassist Ray Brown, leading to Harris' association with Concord Records and the release of a string of well- received recordings as leader.
In 1996 Boise, Idaho business leaders, educators and musicians lead by Gene Harris the Gene Harris Endowment, providing scholarships for jazz music students at Boise State University. In 1998, this group continued their commitment by forming the Gene Harris Jazz Festival. Gene brought together the best jazz artists to perform in public concerts at night and work with aspiring young musicians during the day. Entering its eleventh season the Gene Harris Jazz Festival remains a major focus of the Gene Harris Endowment.
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The Three Sounds: Groovin' Hard: Live At The Penthouse 1964-1968
by Stefano Merighi
Nell'alveo turbolento della musica afroamericana, scorre sottotraccia da più di mezzo secolo la corrente rapida e ridente del soul-jazz--che chiamiamo così solo per comodità -, di cui The Three Sounds sono stati alfieri indefessi per almeno tre lustri, vantando successi popolari da far invidia a colleghi ben più dotati nella sostanza musicale. Esce per i tipi della Resonance un'antologia di esibizioni dal vivo al Penthouse Jazz Club di Seattle, scelta tra apparizioni collocate tra il 1964 e il ...
read moreThe Three Sounds: Groovin' Hard: Live At The Penthouse 1964-1968
by Dan McClenaghan
The old tapes hide in the archives, deep in the dark corners of record company closets, and even the occasional back yard tool shed--Hal Schaefer's How Do You Like this Piano Playing (Summit Records, 2009). Finding and bringing these lost treasures to the listening public seems to have turned into an industry of its own. And praise be the effort. The year 2016 alone saw the releases of newly discovered gems by pianists Bill Evans, with Some Other Time, (Resonance ...
read moreThree Sounds: Groovin’ Hard - Live at the Penthouse 1964 - 1968
by C. Michael Bailey
Pianist Gene Harris was a durable jazz force from the beginning of his career as leader of the soul-jazz trio, The Three Sounds in the mid-1950s until his death in 2000. He described himself as “a blues pianist with chops" and that is as good a description as can be had. He had a piano style full of Count Basie and seasoned with Art Tatum (never too much of the latter to make his playing sound superfluous of showy}}.
read moreGene Harris Quartet: Another Night In London
by C. Michael Bailey
Pianist Eric Reed once described Gene Harris (1933-2000) thusly, “Gene Harris = Power!" Harris often described himself as “a blues pianist with chops." And what chops those were. In his nearly 50- year career, Harris never veered from his soulful, blues-oriented approach to making music. If Bill Evans could be considered a master of the jazz ballad, then Harris was his counterpart in the sturdy 12-bar jazz mainstay. If music can smile, Gene Harris' would beam.
In 2008 Resonance Records ...
read moreGene Harris: Live in London
by Jim Santella
A never-before-release can be of great value or it can be entirely forgettable. This live session from London, featuring veteran pianist Gene Harris with a stellar quartet, stands with the former. It's a valuable watermark of his career that demonstrates the feeling that went into every performance and is what led sources such as the All Music Guide to label his style as soul-jazz. It's there for all to experience, and if one does not get to some foot-tapping and ...
read moreGene Harris: Live in London
by C. Michael Bailey
Gene Harris (1933-2000) was the master of blues in jazz. A self-proclaimed “blues pianist with chops," Harris could sting the most un-blues-like melody and make it sound like it was written by Meade Lux Lewis and performed by Oscar Peterson. Since Harris' death in 2000, posthumous releases of previously unreleased performances have been steady but sparse. These include: Live at Otter Crest (Concord Jazz, 2001), Instant Party (Concord Jazz, 2004), and now Live in London.
Documenting a 1996 ...
read moreGene Harris
by C. Michael Bailey
Gene Harris (1933-2000) can safely be termed the most serious populist jazz musician to perform in the last 50 years. He is among the most accessible and amiable of jazz pianists, who focused his superior command of the blues and ballads to produce some of the most enduring and enlightening jazz music ever. For these reasons, Mr. Harris has been largely overlooked and underestimated as driving force in jazz. For the uninitiated, this driving force was God in Mr. Harris' ...
read moreThree Sounds: Groovin' Hard
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In the early 1960s, a growing number of lounges and clubs geared to young adults began emerging in Chicago. Some clubs such as the Playboy Club, which first opened in Chicago in 1960, pulled in white customers, while plenty of others were aimed at African-American audiences. All of these establishments began featuring jazz-soul trios, offering a sophisticated, chill alternative to pop and the discotheque phenomenon. The soul-jazz trio concept became so popular in Chicago and on LP that it soon ...
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Happy Birthday, Gene Harris!
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Riffs on Jazz by John Anderson
Pianist Gene Harris (1933-2000) recorded prolifically during his long career. He started out playing in Army bands during the early 1950s. In 1956, he formed The Three Sounds with Andy Simpkins on bass and Bill Dowdy on drums. (Actually, it was originally The Four Sounds, but saxophonist Lonnie “The Sound" Walker dropped out after a year.) The group recorded exclusively with Blue Note Records from 1958 to 1962, including LPs with the likes of Lou Donaldson and Stanley Turrentine (the ...
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Resonance Records to Release Gene Harris "Another Night in London," January 12
Source:
DL Media
RESONANCE RECORDS TO RELEASE ANOTHER NIGHT IN LONDON BY THE LATE KEYBOARD WONDERGENE HARRIS Recorded Live at Pizza Express,A Follow Up to 2008's Live in London “One of the churchiest pianists in jazz, [Harris] turns the keyboard into an altar for preaching the blues and rocking the pews."-- People Magazine “There is no pianist with a better feel for the blues than Gene ...
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Four Free MP3 Downloads from Resonance Records: Gene Harris, Andreas Oberg, John Beasley, and Mike Garson
Source:
All About Jazz
Four free MP3s from the first set of Resonance Records album releases. Includes tracks from Gene Harris' Live in London, Andreas Oberg's My Favorite Guitars, John Beasley's Letter to Herbie, and Mike Garson's Conversations with My Family.
Blue Monk Gene Harris From Live in London 11:19 4AM John Beasley From Letter to Herbie 5:52 The Trick Bag Andreas Oberg From My Favorite Guitars
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Previously Unreleased Live Concert by Legendary Pianist Gene Harris Debuts from Newly Formed Resonance Records as the First Release of Their Heirloom Series
Source:
All About Jazz
The Heirloom Series of Resonance Records makes an auspicious debut with Gene Harris: The Quartet Live in London, an outstanding and unexpected addition to the late pianist's catalog of buoyant, hardswinging discs. Based on previously unreleased tapes provided by his widow Janie Harris, Live in London is also the only available recording of Harris in action with his British quartet. This group performed together exclusively in the U.K., where hometown audience support and remarkable musicianship elevated their performances to match ...
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Blue Monk
From: Live In LondonBy Gene Harris
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Gene Harris
Instrument: Piano
Born: September 1, 1933
Died: January 16, 2000
