Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Resonance Records to release Gene Harris "Another Night in London," January 12

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RESONANCE RECORDS TO RELEASE

ANOTHER NIGHT IN LONDON
BY THE LATE KEYBOARD WONDER
GENE HARRIS

Recorded Live at Pizza Express,
A Follow Up to 2008's
Live in London


JD & JACKSON ON RED CARPET
"One of the churchiest pianists in jazz, [Harris] turns the keyboard into an altar for preaching the blues and rocking the pews."
- People Magazine

"There is no pianist with a better feel for the blues than Gene Harris."
- The Wall Street Journal

"I never have anything in my mind when I play. I just play from my heart; from my soul, and just try to let everything I have inside of me come out...and it seems that the people love it that way."
- Gene Harris


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.

Another Night in London features the fleet-fingered Harris dropping syncopated science on several standards. "Sweet Georgia Brown," "Georgia on my Mind," and "Lady Be Good," all roll with a driving swing that could rock both the Philharmonic and the juke joint. In contrast, the bossa nova chestnut "Meditation" is given a samba-fied treatment, and "This Masquerade" is an exquisitely sensitive rendering of the Leon Russell/George Benson hit. Writer Don Heckman penned in the CD liner notes, "one can hear...the rich harmonic visions of Art Tatum; the playful articulation of Errol Garner, the propulsive rhythms of Ahmad Jamal. But each of these elements plays only an additive role in interpreting style that is Harris' own..."

Another Night in London is only the latest aural document to showcase Harris' show-stopping and scintillating genius, and it's on par with some of his greatest recordings including The Three Sounds, Feelin' Good, Blue Hour (with Stanley Turrentine), and The Philip Morris All-Stars Live. It is the zenith of an amazing career that took the Benton Harbor, Michigan native to the ends of the earth on the wings of his inexhaustible and indestructible swing, entrancing fans, critics and fellow musicians; influencing the likes of Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Ray Charles, and Benny Carter.

With the release of Another Night in London , we can still follow the eternal ebullient elegance of Gene Harris' pulsing piano as it casts a bright light over the legacy of jazz piano that will burn as long as the music is still with us. As a solo artist with dozens of recordings, Harris was one of the most well-respected and popular pianists of all time. "Recorded at a time when he was at the peak of his powers, just before he began to experience the health issues that would ultimately lead to his death from kidney failure in 2000," writes Heckman in the liner notes, "the album sparks with the drama that Harris invested in every note he played."


GENE HARRIS - ANOTHER NIGHT IN LONDON
Resonance Records HCD-2006 / January 12, 2010

For further information on this and other Resonance Records releases, visitwww.ResonanceRecords.org

Resonance Records Receives Two Grammy Nominations

Best Instrumental Arrangement "West Side Story Medley"
Bill Cunliffe, arranger (Resonance Big Band)
Resonance Big Band Pays Tribute To Oscar Peterson

Best Latin Jazz Album (Vocal or Instrumental)
Brazilliance X 4, Claudio Roditi

This is very exciting for us as these are our first-ever Grammy Nominations
in our label's one and a half year history.
We couldn't be more proud of our artists and their music.

Thank YOU for all of your support.
Sincerely,
Everyone at Resonance Records

Resonance Records is a program of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation,
a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation

For media information contact:
Steph Brown at DL MEDIA (p) 610-667-0501 (e) steph@jazzpublicity.com
Don Lucoff at DL MEDIA (p) 610-667-0501 (e) don@jazzpublicity.com

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