Gene Perla (b. March 1, 1940, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey) is an American jazz bassist.
Perla studied piano at the Berklee School of Music and the Boston Conservatory before switching to bass. He played with Woody Herman in 1969-70, as well as Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Jeremy Steig, Elvin Jones (1971-73), and Sonny Rollins.
In the 1970s Perla founded the PM jazz record label. He also later headed Plug Records. Under his leadership the labels recorded Dave Liebman, Elvin Jones, Steve Grossman, Pat LaBarbera, and Jerry Bergonzi. He formed Stone Alliance with Grossman and Don Alias in 1975, and continues to perform and teach at Lehigh University and the New School of Jazz & Contemporary Music. Current groups include the Fine Wine Trio, Go Trio, and Easton Jazz Express.
Other activities include running an A/V studio featuring ProTools & Final Cut Pro, and CyberNet Communications, a Web design and hosting organization.
With Elvin Jones