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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist known for his warm sound and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

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 sa ...

. 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. 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 ha ...

, until his death from kidney failure in 2000. One of his most popular numbers was his "

Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American patriotic music, American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War. Howe adapted her song from the soldiers' song "John Brown's Body" in N ...

," a live version of which is on his ''Live at Otter Crest'' album, published by Concord. The singer Niki Haris is his daughter.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Compilations * ''The Best of The Three Sounds'' (with The Three Sounds) (Blue Note, 1993) * ''Gene Harris: The Concord Jazz Heritage Series'' (Concord, 1998) * ''The Blue Note Years'' (with The Three Sounds) (Blue Note, 1999) * ''Gene Harris: The Best of the Concord Years'' (Concord, 2000) CD* ''The Complete Blue Hour Sessions'' ( The Three Sounds with

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...

) (Blue Note, 2000) CD* ''Big Band Soul'' (with the Gene Harris Superband) (Concord, 2002) CD– contains ''Live At Town Hall, N.Y.C.'' + ''World Tour 1990'' * ''Swingin' the Blues'' (Recall, 2002) CD* ''Ballad Essentials'' (Concord, 2003) * ''Live From New York To Tokyo'' (with the Ray Brown Trio) (Concord, 2003) CD– live contains ''The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio'' + ''Bam Bam Bam'' * ''Instant Party'' (Concord, 2004)

As a member

* The Blue Note All-Stars, ''Blue Note Live at The Roxy'' (Blue Note, 1976) – live * Concord Jazz All Stars, ''The 20th Concord Festival All-Stars'' (Concord, 1988)

As sideman

With The Ray Brown Trio * ''Soular Energy'' (Concord, 1985) – rec. 1984 * ''Don't Forget the Blues'' (Concord, 1986) * ''The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio'' (Concord, 1987) – live rec. 1985 at the Blue Note * '' Bam Bam Bam'' (Concord, 1989) – live at the Fujitsu-Concord Jazz Festival * ''Black Orpheus'' (Evidence, 1989) * ''Mr. Blue'' (

Denon is a Japanese electronics company dealing with audio equipment. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo (not to be confused with the other Onkyo) and others in 1939. It originally started as Nippon Chikuonki Shoukai in 1910 by Freder ...

, 1989) – also with Takashi Ohi * ''Summer Wind: Live at The Loa'' (Concord, 1990) – live rec. 1988 * ''Moore Makes 4'' (Concord, 1990) – also with Ralph Moore * ''Three Dimensional'' (Concord, 1991) * ''Georgia on My Mind'' (All Art apan 1991) With others * Nat Adderley, '' Branching Out'' ( Riverside, 1958) * James Clay, '' A Double Dose of Soul'' (Riverside, 1960) *

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 ...

, ''Organ-izing'' ( Jazzland, 1960) * various artists, '' 'S Wonderful: Concord Jazz Salutes Ira Gershwin'' (Concord, 1979) *

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

Quartet, ''Soul Route'' ( Pablo, 1984) – rec. 1983 * Ernestine Anderson, ''When the Sun Goes Down'' (Concord, 1984) *

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 ...

, '' A Gentleman and His Music'' (Concord, 1985) * Junko Mine, ''Love Me Tender'' (All Art apan 1986) *

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

, ''Live at The Apollo'' ( GRP, 1990) – live * various artists, ''Concord Jazz Festival: Live 1990'' (Concord, 1990) – live * various artists, ''Concord Jazz Festival: Live 1990, Third Set'' (Concord, 1990) – live * various artists, ''A Concord Jazz Christmas'' (Concord, 1991) * various artists, ''Jazz Celebration: Tribute to Carl Jefferson'' (Concord, 1992) * various artists, ''Fujitsu-Concord 25th Jazz Festival'' (Concord, 1993) * various artists, ''Fujitsu-Concord 26th Jazz Festival'' (Concord, 1994) * Mary Stallings, ''I Waited for You'' (Concord, 1994) *

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band duri ...

, ''It's the Real Soul'' (Concord, 1996) *

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuffy (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz ...

, ''Down Home Blues'' (Concord, 1997) * Niki Haris, ''Dreaming A Dream'' (BMG, 1997) * Marian McPartland, ''Just Friends'' (Concord, 1998)

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.

References

External links

Official websiteGene Harris discographyGene Harris Jazz FestivalBiography
(Allmusic via VH1)
Gene Harris on Resonance Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Gene 1933 births 2000 deaths African-American pianists American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Soul-jazz musicians Soul-jazz 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 The Three Sounds members 20th-century African-American musicians