Tags
African American, Blues, Gene Harris, Jazz, Keyboards, Piano
Recorded Live at Pizza Express, A Follow Up to 2008’s Live In London
– People Magazine
For five decades, Michigan-born, self-taught pianist/composer/bandleader Gene Harris (1933-2000) beautifully blended blues, bop, soul, and gospel into his signature sound. As the leader of the legendary trio The Three Sounds – with bassist Bill Dowdy and drummer Andy Simpkins – to his final, productive years in Idaho, Harris was always swinging: in the pocket, on the one, and in the groove; with a logic and lyricism that drank deeply from the well of the blues.
Harris’ artistry is in full effect on the forthcoming Resonance Records CD, Another Night in London (release date: January 12, 2010), a cool and combustive live quartet, recorded at Pizza Express in May 1996 with an all-British rhythm section featuring bassist Andrew Cleyndert, guitarist Jim Mullen, and Oscar Peterson’s former drummer, Martin Drew. Another Night in London is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Live in London CD, released in 2008 on the same label. Both recordings are rare in that they are the only two available that feature Harris’ European quartet. Continue reading