bbopman

Hello Dan, My name is Bradley Young, and I'm a jazz pianist, composer and recording artist. I'm new to the group, and just read this fascinating thread. I have been an admirer of Gene Harris for as long as I can remember - he has been a constant source of inspiration in my life as a Jazz pianist. I believe he is one of the great pianists in the history of Jazz, and he has been one of my major influences, stylistically, as a pianist. So, I posted a very similar post on "RateYourMusic.com" in 2003, very similar indeed...to your query about the existence of a white Jazz pianist named Gene Harris, who recorded one (or two?) albums for the Jubilee label in the mid 1950's. Who is this guy? Why is there NO information about him anywhere on the internet..and why is it that on most Gene Harris discographies, its is assumed that the two LP's on the Jubilee label by him, "Our Love Is Here To Stay", and "Genie In My Soul", are the work of the "REAL" Gene Harris of The Three Sounds fame? This is a CRAZY MYSTERY and no one seems to be able to figure it out! I've had nearly the identical experience that you have had: first, an overwhelming curiosity to figure out WHO the pianist is on "Our Love Is Here To Stay" - is it the same pianist who plays on "Genie In My Soul", or is it "our" Gene Harris, the pianist who started his career in 1958 with the release of "Blue Note Presents The Three Sounds", catalog #1600, on Blue Note Records? Apparently, our experience is almost identical even down to being so bold as to ask one of my friends, Luther Hughes, who played bass with Gene Harris in the 1980's and 1990's, to provide me with Janie's tel # (Gene's wife) so I could call her and ask her if she could shed some light in this issue. Well, I did call and speak with her at length, and she told me the EXACT same story she told you: That the liner notes must have gotten screwed up, and that it was DEFINITELY her husband, the great Gene Harris from Benton Harbor, Michigan, who recorded "Our Love Is Here To Stay" for Jubilee in 1955, after he was out of the army. She shared the same story of the two of them being together in Japan on one of Gene's tours, and the club owner putting the record (CD) on during one of the band's breaks - and Gene putting his head in his hands, and Janie asking "What's the matter, baby?" and Gene telling her that they were listening to the first record he ever did, before forming the Three Sounds...after he got out of the army. So if all this is true, why does the pianist on "Our Love Is Here To Stay" sound like a very accomplished bebop pianist, with serious classical training (he even quotes a famous classical theme - I can't remember the name of it at the moment) - and he executes it flawlessly - and also, stylistically, this pianist sounds very much like he was influenced by bebop piano players like Bud Powell, Al Haig and George Wallington... I have been playing piano since I was 4 years old, and started listening to Jazz when I was 7 or 8 - and started playing Jazz when I was 15. I've been a student of Jazz my whole life. I have what I would modestly call a fairly well developed ear - and to me, this pianist doesn't sound at all like Gene Harris of "The Three Sounds"...also, strangely, and more confoundingly, he doesn't sound like the Gene Harris on the "Genie In My Soul" album either! The pianist on "Our Love Is Here To Stay" has a much more well rounded approach, with obvious classical training, and he swings more authentically, and harder than the Gene Harris who plays on "Genie In My Soul". So the conundrum is: If it is really the same pianist who played on "Genie In My Soul", why does he sound like a completely different pianist? Did he DIGRESS in the 4 subsequent years? ("Our Love Is Here To Stay was released in 1955, and "Genie In My Soul" according to info Ive found on the internet, was released in 1959). The pianist on "genie In My Soul" sounds a lot less HIP than the pianist on "Genie In My Soul" - it CANT be the same guy...The pianist on "Genie In My Soul", (forgive me), sounds like a competent pianist, but somewhat soul-less, glib white pianist...more like someone who is coming from the Roger Williams bag than a true Jazz player...The pianist on "Our Love Is Here To Stay" is WONDERFUL, with a nice light touch, and sudden bursts of double time runs that again hint at someone who listened to Bud Powell, George Wallington...even Oscar Peterson....so perhaps it IS the "real" Gene Harris (of Three Sounds" fame)...BUT - if its really the Gene Harris of The Three Sounds - is it really possible that he transformed his style from this bebop oriented style, to the gospel and blues saturated style we hear on "The Three Sounds" first LP on Blue Note? Intuitively, for me, it doesn't make sense...and every time I listen to "Our Love Is Here To Stay" (I really like the guy's playing, whoever he is) I keep thinking "NO, thats NOT the "real" Gene Harris!" So...whats the answer? In the age of Google, where, there are seemingly no questions that cannot be answered - here is one that befuddles Jazz historians and fans, with no foreseeable resolution. This is a mystery inside of an enigma, inside of a conundrum...feel free to respond here if you've learned anything new. Ive been frustrated by this seemingly unanswerable question for years now. Thanks for taking the time to read. Sincerely, Bradley Young