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Gene Harris was an American jazz pianist. He was born in Michigan as Eugene Haire, before adopting his stage name. He learned his trade in a US Army band from 1951 to 1954. From 1956 to 1970 he played in The Three Sounds trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy, recording for the Blue Note, Verve and Mercury labels. Their debut album was 'Introducing the Three Sounds' in 1958 and the trio recorded numerous albums including 'Bottoms Up' (1959), 'Black Orchid' (1962), 'Blue Genes' (1962), 'Vibrations' (1966), 'Live at the Lighthouse' (1967), 'Coldwater Flat' (1968) and 'Soul Symphony' (1969). Harris's blues and gospel-influenced piano made him a very accessible jazz pianist. Harris retired to Boise, Idaho in 1977, but was persuaded to make a comeback by Ray Brown in the early '80s. He worked with the Ray Brown Trio and The Philip Morris Superband and formed his own quartets during the '80s and '90s. The Gene Harris All Star Big Band's 1987 album 'Tribute to Count Bassie' earned a Grammy nomination. One of the Gene Harris Quartet's most successful releases was the album 'Listen Here!' in 1989. His final live album was 'Alley Cats' in 1998. Harris died from kidney failure in 2000 at the age of 66.
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