Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

pianist known for his warm sound and blues and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

infused style that is known as

soul jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including t ...

. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer

Bill Dowdy Bill Dowdy (August 15, 1932 – May 12, 2017) was an American jazz musician and teacher. He was the drummer with the jazz trio, The Three Sounds. The Three Sounds recorded over ten jazz albums from the 1950s through the early 1970s and played ...

. During this time, The Three Sounds recorded regularly for

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

and Verve. He 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 Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists hav ...

, 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. The singer and actress Niki Haris is his daughter.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

* ''

Branching Out ''Branching Out'' is an album by jazz cornetist Nat Adderley released on the Riverside label featuring performances by Adderley with Johnny Griffin, and The Three Sounds.

'' (with

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

) (1958, Riverside) * '' A Double Dose of Soul'' (with

James Clay James Clay may refer to: * James Clay (author) (1804–1873), English MP and writer about the game of whist * James Clay (musician) (1935–1994), saxophonist and flautist * James Clay (Pennsylvania politician), member of the Pennsylvania House of ...

) (1960, Riverside) * ''Organ-izing'' (with

Melvin Rhyne Melvin Rhyne (October 12, 1936 – March 5, 2013), was a jazz organist best known for his work with Wes Montgomery. Biography Melvin Rhyne was born in Indianapolis in 1936 and started playing the piano shortly after. At 19 years old, Rhyne s ...

) (1960, Jazzland) * ''Blue Note Live at The Roxy'' (with the Blue Note All-Stars) (1976, Blue Note) * '' 'S Wonderful: Concord Jazz Salutes Ira Gershwin'' (with various artists) (1979, Concord) * ''Soul Route'' (with

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging sol ...

Quartet) (1983,

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) * ''When the Sun Goes Down'' (with

Ernestine Anderson Ernestine Anderson (November 11, 1928 – March 10, 2016) was an American jazz and blues singer. In a career spanning more than six decades, she recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She sang at Carnegie Hall ...

) (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 live at the 'Blue Note' * ''

A Gentleman and His Music ''A Gentleman and His Music'' is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Carter recorded in 1985 and released by the Concord label.Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

) (1985, Concord) * ''Love Me Tender'' (with Junko Mine and the Ray Brown Trio) (1986, All Art

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the ...

* ''Summer Wind: Live at The Loa'' (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1988

990 Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Al-Mansur, ''de facto'' ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (mode ...

Concord) * ''Bam Bam Bam'' (with the Ray Brown Trio) (1988, Concord) recorded live at the Fujitsu-Concord Jazz Festival * ''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 is a Japanese electronics company started in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur. Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon was involved in the early stages of de ...

) * ''Moore Makes 4'' (with

Ralph Moore Ralph Moore (born 24 December 1956) is an English jazz saxophonist. Early life Moore was born in Brixton, London, England. His mother was the dancer Josie Woods, and his father was in the US military. He spent his childhood in Brixton, and aft ...

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) * ''Spectrum'' (with Mary Stallings) (1996, Concord) * ''It's the Real Soul'' (with

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic ...

(1996, Concord) * ''Down Home Blues'' (with Jack McDuff) (1997, Concord) * ''Dreaming A Dream'' (with Niki Haris) (1997, BMG) * ''Just Friends'' (with

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and writ ...

) (1998, Concord)

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, Blue Note) * ''Gene Harris: The Best of the Concord Years'' (2000, Concord) 2-CD * ''The Complete Blue Hour Sessions'' ( The Three Sounds with Stanley Turrentine) (2000, Blue Note) 2-CD * ''Big Band Soul'' (with the Gene Harris Superband) (contains ''Live At Town Hall, N.Y.C.'' + ''World Tour 1990'') (2002, Concord) 2-CD * ''Swingin' the Blues'' (2002, Recall) 2-CD * ''Ballad Essentials'' (2003, Concord) * ''Live From New York To Tokyo'' (with the Ray Brown Trio) (contains ''The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio'' + ''Bam Bam Bam'') (2003, Concord) 2-CD * ''Instant Party'' (2004, Concord)

References

External links

Official websiteGene Harris discographyGene Harris Jazz FestivalBiography
(Allmusic via VH1)
Gene Harris on Resonance Records
Honors The Gene Harris bandshell in Boise's Ann Morrison park is named in his honor. The Gene Harris Jazz Festival is an annual event in Boise that brings together the best of Boise jazz and education in memory of the city's most famous jazz musician. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Gene 1933 births 2000 deaths Soul-jazz musicians African-American pianists American jazz pianists American male pianists People from Benton Harbor, Michigan Blue Note Records artists Concord Records artists Jazz musicians from Michigan 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Three Sounds members 20th-century African-American musicians