Search - Three Sounds, Gene Harris :: Best of

An Appropriate Title....

Robert J. Ament | Ballwin, MO United States | 09/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"for this cd because its simply a great compilation of this consistently entertaining group during its first stint on the Blue Note label (1958-1962). There are 13 selections covering 8 albums for this period......good stuff all the way. Good mainstream jazz with a blues tinge from a very tight group!It's interesting to hear one of the great soul and blues pianists at this early stage of his career. You hear the influence of Oscar Peterson on the first selection, "Bobby" and a strong resemblance to Red Garland throughout with a touch of Erroll Garner for good measure. He already had that great touch with a ballad.......witness the gorgeous rendition of "At Last".Actually, the whole cd is great! If I had to pick favorites they would be "Summertime", "Poinciana", "Stompin' At The Savoy","One For Renee" and "If I Were A Bell". It's hard to discount "On Green Dolphin Street" and the bluesy "Down The Track" also. As I said that nearly covers the whole cd.It's hard to believe no one else has reviewed this gem! I would think this would especially appeal to Gene Harris fans, or Erroll Garner, or Oscar Peterson, or Red Garland. In other words, any fan of really good piano jazz trio!"

Apparently not good enough for today's listeners.

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 02/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No reason this one should be out of print. The Three Sounds briefly rode the wave of popularity that carried the Red Garland Trio for almost 10 years, acquiring a reputation even among musicians as a quintessentially "bad" rhythm section. Listening to their recordings now, it's easier to concentrate on pianist Gene Harris, who would vanish, then unlike Red re-emerge as a dominating soloist in the early 1980s. But even on the late '50s recordings, his talents are undeniable. He's got all the licks and funky patterns (and then some) that would propel the more deliberative, limited Ramsey Lewis into the limelight in the early '60s. (My hunch is that Harris would be incapable of stooping to the "In Crowd" or, like the opportunistic Ramsey, trying to pass as a disco artist in the '70s.) His recorded sound (by Van Gelder) and voicings invite immediate comparisons with Garland, though he lacks the latter's facility with those wide-spaced block chords (only Red could make those work at extended stretches on up-tempo tunes). His sportive right hand, fueled by abundant technique, is reminiscent less of Red than a player intent on "getting it all said"--namely, Oscar Peterson.



With an ensemble like this and such a superb captain at the controls, it's practically criminal if a listener doesn't have some Three Sounds in his collection. This anthology is a good representative sampler, though I notice that it has nothing from "Out of This World," a killer date and, unfortunately, descriptive of the group's place as far as the present millennium is concerned.



If it's any consolation, Gene, you're the favorite pianist of a close preacher friend and of a couple of professional pianist-acquaintances from Minneapolis and Milwaukee who always bring up your name at the start of any discussion about jazz piano."