Gene Harris

Gene Harris
Background information
Birth name	Eugene Haire
Born	(1933-09-01)September 1, 1933 Benton Harbor, Michigan, U.S.
Died	January 16, 2000(2000-01-16) (aged 66) Boise, Idaho
Genres	Jazz, blues, soul jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Piano, keyboards, Hammond B3
Years active	1955–2000
Labels	Blue Note, Concord Jazz
Associated acts	The Three Sounds, Ray Brown, The Philip Morris Super Band, Niki Haris
Website	www.geneharris.org

Gene Harris (September 1, 1933 in Benton Harbor, Michigan – January 16, 2000 in Boise, Idaho) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz.

From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy. During this time, The Three Sounds recorded regularly for Blue Note and Verve.^[1]

He was mostly retired to Boise, starting in the late 1970s, although he performed regularly at the Idanha Hotel there. Ray Brown convinced him to go back on tour in the early 1980s. He played with the Ray Brown Trio and then led his own groups, recording mostly on Concord Records, until his death from kidney failure in 2000.

One of his most popular numbers was his "Battle Hymn of the Republic," a live version of which is on his Live at Otter Crest album, published by Concord.

Discography

As leader

All albums from 1958–1971 (from Introducing the 3 Sounds until The 3 Sounds) are with The Three Sounds except otherwise noted

• Our Love Is Here to Stay (1955, Jubilee)
• Introducing the 3 Sounds (1958, Blue Note)
• Genie in My Soul (1959, Jubilee), Gene Harris Trio with bassist Ben Tucker and Kenny Harris on drums
• LD + 3 (1959, Blue Note), Lou Donaldson with The Three Sounds
• Standards (1959, Blue Note)
• Bottoms Up! (1959, Blue Note)
• Good Deal (1959, Blue Note)
• Blue Hour (1960, Blue Note), The Three Sounds with Stanley Turrentine
• Moods (1960, Blue Note)
• Feelin' Good (1960, Blue Note)
• Here We Come (1960, Blue Note)
• It Just Got to Be (1960, Blue Note)
• Hey There (1961, Blue Note)
• Babe's Blues (1962, Blue Note)
• Out of This World (1962, Blue Note)
• Black Orchid (1962, Blue Note)
• Blue Genes (1962, Verve)
• Anita O'Day & The Three Sounds (1962, Verve)
• Jazz on Broadway (1962, Mercury)
• Some Like It Modern (1963, Mercury)
• Live at The Living Room (1964, Mercury)
• Three Moods (1964, Limelight)
• Beautiful Friendship (1965, Limelight)
• Today's Sounds (1966, Limelight)
• Vibrations (1966, Blue Note)
• Live at The Lighthouse (1967, Blue Note)
• Coldwater Flat (1968, Blue Note)
• Elegant Soul (1968, Blue Note)
• Soul Symphony (1969, Blue Note)
• Live at The "It Club" (1970, Blue Note)
• Live at The "It Club" (1970, Blue Note)
• The 3 Sounds (1971, Blue Note)
• Gene Harris of the Three Sounds (1972, Blue Note)
• Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow (1973, Blue Note)
• Astral Signal (1974, Blue Note)
• Nexus (1976, Blue Note)
• In a Special Way (1976, Blue Note)
• Tone Tantrum (1977, Blue Note)
• Nature's Way (1980, JAM)
• Live at Otter Crest (1981, Concord)
• Hot Lips (1982, JAM)
• The Gene Harris Trio Plus One (1985, Concord)
• Tribute to Count Basie (1987, Concord), with the Gene Harris All-Star Big Band
• Listen Here! (1989, Concord)
• Live at Town Hall, N.Y.C. (1989, Concord), with The Philip Morris Superband
• At Last (1990, Concord), as the Gene Harris/Scott Hamilton Quintet
• World Tour 1990 (1990, Concord), with the Philip Morris Superband
• Black and Blue (1991, Concord)
• Like a Lover (1992, Concord)
• Gene Harris Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 23 (1992, Concord)
• Brotherhood (1992, Concord)
• A Little Piece of Heaven at Ste. Chapelle Winery (1993, Concord)
• Funky Gene's (1994, Concord)
• It's the Real Soul (1995, Concord), with Frank Wess
• Live (Gene Harris & The Philip Morris All-Stars (1995, Concord)
• In His Hands (1996, Concord)
• Down Home Blues (1996, Concord), with Jack McDuff
• Alley Cats (1998, Concord)
• Live in London (2008, Resonance) – recorded in 1996
• Another Night in London (2010, Resonance) – recorded in 1996

As sideman

• Branching Out (with Nat Adderley) (1958, Riverside)
• A Double Dose of Soul (with James Clay) (1960, Riverside)
• Organ-izing (with Melvin Rhyne) (1960, Jazzland)
• Anita O'Day & The Three Sounds (The Three Sounds with Anita O'Day) (1962, Verve)
• Blue Note Live at The Roxy (with Blue Note All-Stars) (1976, Blue Note)
• 'S Wonderful: Concord Jazz Salutes Ira Gershwin (with various artists) (1979, Concord)
• Soul Route (with Milt Jackson Quartet) (1983, Pablo)
• When the Sun Goes Down (with Ernestine Anderson) (1984, Concord)
• Soular Energy (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1984, Concord)
• Don't Forget the Blues (with the Ray Brown All Stars) (1985, Concord)
• The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1985, Concord) recorded at the Blue Note
• A Gentleman and His Music (with Benny Carter) (1985, Concord)
• Love Me Tender (with Junko Mine and the Ray Brown Trio) (1986, All Art)
• Summer Wind: Live at The Loa (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1988, Concord)
• Bam Bam Bam (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1988, Concord)
• The 20th Concord Festival All-Stars (with various artists) (1988, Concord)
• Black Orpheus (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1989, Evidence)
• Mr. Blue (with Takashi Ohi and the Ray Brown Trio) (1989, Denon)
• Moore Makes 4 (with Ralph Moore and the Ray Brown Trio) (1990, Concord)
• At Last (Gene Harris/Scott Hamilton Quintet) (1990, Concord)
• Live at The Apollo (with B.B. King) (1990, GRP)
• Concord Jazz Festival: Live 1990 (with various artists) (1990, Concord)
• Concord Jazz Festival: Live 1990, Vol. 3 (with various artists) (1990, Concord)
• Three Dimensional (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1991, Concord)
• A Concord Jazz Christmas (with various artists) (1991, Concord)
• Georgia on My Mind (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1991, All Art)
• Jazz Celebration: Tribute to Carl Jefferson (with various artists) (1992, Concord)
• Fujitsu-Concord 25th Jazz Festival (with various artists) (1993, Concord)
• Fujitsu-Concord 26th Jazz Festival (with various artists) (1994, Concord)
• I Waited for You (with Mary Stallings) (1994, Concord)
• It's the Real Soul (with Frank Wess (1995, Concord)
• Down Home Blues (with Jack McDuff) (1996, Concord)
• Dreaming A Dream (with Niki Haris) (1996, RCA/BMG)
• Just Friends (with Marian McPartland) (1997)

Compilations

• The Best of The Three Sounds (with The Three Sounds) (1993, Blue Note)
• Gene Harris: The Concord Jazz Heritage Series (1998, Concord)
• The Blue Note Years (with The Three Sounds) (1999, EMI/Blue Note)
• Gene Harris: The Best of the Concord Years (2000, Concord)
• The Complete Blue Hour Sessions (The Three Sounds with Stanley Turrentine) (2000, Blue Note)
• Big Band Soul (with the Gene Harris Superband) (2002, Concord)
• Swinging in the Blues (2002, Recall)
• Ballad Essentials (2003, Concord)
• Live From New York To Tokyo (with the Ray Brown Trio) (contains Bam Bam Bam and The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio 2003)
• Instant Party (2004, Concord)

References

External links

• Gene Harris discography
• Gene Harris Jazz Festival
• Biography (Allmusic via VH1)
• Gene Harris on Resonance Records