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gene harris

is anyone out there familar with the pianist gene harris? i've been listening to his stuff lately and i really like his bluesy type of sound. does anyone know any other pianists that play in a similar style to him?

by MysteriousDrC on 02/27/2006, 21:13

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wynton kelly, hampton hawes, bobby timmons, oscar peterson etc etc...

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by dreammonk on 02/27/2006, 22:42

oscar peterson probably perfected that sound, and monty alexander has taken it to another level.

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by Scot Ranney on 02/27/2006, 23:51

oscar peterson, gene harris and monty alexander all sound similar.

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by Jazz+ on 02/28/2006, 01:44

my take on gene harris is that he plays with a formula in mind. always start sparse, then after three choruses jump into the giant two hand sound.

oscar was less predictable but in certain kinds of tunes you knew what was going to happen.

monty seems to do what he can to stay away from being completely predictable, and you can tell he strives to play new stuff, which is nice.

the interesting thing is that all three of these guys look up to the same pianist: nat king cole

so if anyone really wants to figure out where gene harris and the rest of the swing guys got their seeds of ideas from, listen to a bunch of old nat king cole trio music.

If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.

Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.

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by Scot Ranney on 02/28/2006, 11:47

add diana krall to that list as well.

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by jmkarns on 02/28/2006, 17:43

what about ray bryant? he's a very bluesy, driving pianist that no one mentions any more. i was glad to see hampton hawes' name in the posting above - he's another often overlooked pianist with a mega-swinging, bluesy style and a percussive touch all his own.

gene harris did become a little safe and formulaic towards the last few years, but i love his combination of blues, gospel and bebop. does anyone know his trioalbum live at otter crest (concord 49452). it was recorded in 1981 just before he made his 'comeback' onto the world stage and it really sounds like he'd been practising hard! some stunningly fluent up-tempo bebop playing - you probably wouldn't recognise it as gene harris. check it out!

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by DrJazz on 04/08/2006, 18:59

another thing - i tried to find some nat king cole albums in london's biggest jazz record store (hmv) the other day, and they were conspicuously absent from the jazz section. i asked about this and the sales assistant told me with a slight sneer that i needed to look in easy listening!

so that's the fate that has befallen a major jazz stylist, who also happened to be a very commercially successful singer! diana krall beware!

and finally, to get back to gene harris, he released dozens (literally) of albums in the 1960s with his trio the three sounds. many of these will probably never see the light of day again, but the ones i've heard have been excellent. some have been re-released on cd - eg: black orchid (blue note).

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by DrJazz on 04/08/2006, 19:09

miles black is another one, that play in that style often.

now that you mention it, i love diana krall, she is a great singer as well as pianist. the girl can play!!!

in fact she's all i've been listeing to lately and she brings a fresh rendition to old worn out standards that you've heard and played a million times. :)

jv'

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by jazzvirtuoso on 04/08/2006, 20:45

dr jazz- you need to find the old classic recordings of nat king cole. they would not be in the easy listening area. these days they are sold as a collection, a boxed set. you can't get them individually any more, but you won't regret it if you get a boxed set of old nat king cole trio recordings.

not stuff like "unforgettable" and all that tripe. he stopped playing piano and just sang for the last few recordings. hope krall doesn't do that. she is a great player and has a very nice sound with her voice as well.

If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.

Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.

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by Scot Ranney on 04/08/2006, 23:16

some may disagree, but i also think dave grusins playing has a bluesy sound maybe even gospely like as well.

jv'

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by jazzvirtuoso on 04/08/2006, 23:51

i have thought that monty alexander has his similarities though much more modern and versatile.

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by Mike on 04/09/2006, 04:47

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gene harris

There are 11 comments, leave a comment.

by dreammonk on 02/27/2006, 22:42

by Scot Ranney on 02/27/2006, 23:51

by Jazz+ on 02/28/2006, 01:44

by Scot Ranney on 02/28/2006, 11:47

by jmkarns on 02/28/2006, 17:43

by DrJazz on 04/08/2006, 18:59

by DrJazz on 04/08/2006, 19:09

by jazzvirtuoso on 04/08/2006, 20:45

by Scot Ranney on 04/08/2006, 23:16

by jazzvirtuoso on 04/08/2006, 23:51

by Mike on 04/09/2006, 04:47

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gene harris

There are 11 comments, leave a comment.

by dreammonk on 02/27/2006, 22:42

by Scot Ranney on 02/27/2006, 23:51

by Jazz+ on 02/28/2006, 01:44

by Scot Ranney on 02/28/2006, 11:47

by jmkarns on 02/28/2006, 17:43

by DrJazz on 04/08/2006, 18:59

by DrJazz on 04/08/2006, 19:09

by jazzvirtuoso on 04/08/2006, 20:45

by Scot Ranney on 04/08/2006, 23:16

by jazzvirtuoso on 04/08/2006, 23:51

by Mike on 04/09/2006, 04:47

Reply to Thread

Jazz Piano Notebook Series

"Latinesque"

LJP Jazz Piano Blogs

Most Recent Discussions

Articles

Top Sheetmusic Picks

Jazz piano education is cool.

Rock on. Follow your passion.

Sign In