Live at Otter Crest [Live]

Live at Otter Crest [Live]

ASIN: B00005CBWO

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Recorded in 1981 in Oregon, this release of never before released live recording finds powerhouse jazz/blues pianist Gene Harris in top form. Features John Heard on bass and Jimmie Smith on drums. This Concord Records release has 6 tracks including 'Sweet Lorraine' and 'Cute'.

Tracks:

Sweet Lorraine
My Foolish Heart
A Little Blues There
Battle Hymn Of The Republic
Shiny Stockings
Cute

Album Description

Recorded in 1981 in Oregon, this release of never before released live recording finds powerhouse jazz/blues pianist Gene Harris in top form. Features John Heard on bass and Jimmie Smith on drums. This Concord Records release has 6 tracks including 'Sweet Lorraine' and 'Cute'.

Customer Reviews:

The joy of Gene Harris.......2005-08-28

As I've grown in my appreciation of music, I've found that my interest in performers' techniques has faded. At the same time, my love of the performer's ability to impart a truly human experience has multiplied. As it happens, Live at Otter Creek shows Gene Harris to be a technician with major league chops who has a ball on stage, infecting all around him. Right from the start, his side men know it's a special night; the joy spreads to the audience, a joy they can hardly contain; the entire evening is so full of ebullience that I can't imagine anyone who hears this music controlling the urge to bounce up and down and break out in laughter-or tears

Let's take "Sweet Loraine" as an example. It's the opening number. Harris begins it in an easy lope, slowly turns up the heat, and builds the tension to the point that one is ready to bolt--then releases it with a large hearted, delighted laugh. He has us, and he knows it.

It's in "A Little Blues Here," a Harris original, that things really heat up. He blazes through eleven incendiary choruses, igniting some pretty hot stuff from John Heard on bass, and some very hot stuff from Jimmie Smith on drums. Throughout these last two solos, the audience can't keep quiet, and at the end, there is general bedlam. Me? I'm about to jump out of my chair.

By the way, as if to satisfy those who haven't been knocked out by his technique all night long, Harris tosses off "Cute" as an encore. It's a jaw-dropping tour-de-force, but it's still the passion that matters the most.

There's more, of course, and I wish I'd been there. That's what an album like this one does for me. It offers me the sense of an experience, all because of the exceptional and joyous talent of Gene Harris. I heard him a few months before his death, at Spivey Hall, just outside of Atlanta. He played with less vigor than in this album but with no less joy. He smiled continuously. After the show, he was very weak and remained seated as he greeted guests. Many of his fires were banked, but there was no putting them out--not that night, anyway.

The Clincher.......2004-10-25

Truth be told, I'd always been slightly reserved in my estimate of Gene Harris (though with my musical acquaintances, his was frequently the first name to come up whenever the conversation turned to jazz piano). I certainly admired the "groove" of The Three Sounds and picked up 4-5 of their Prestige sides. But though it was infectious, accessible jazz, I considered it just short of the bar attained by Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, and Ahmad Jamal. And when Harris made his "comeback" in the '80's on Concord, his music engaged me but not to the degree of a piano "communicator" like Monty Alexander.

This particular recording is the one that removed all doubts, reservations, and qualifiers. I'm giving the album five stars, even though prospective purchasers need to be forewarned that the audio quality is a bit "distant," the resonance of the piano at times suspect, and there's a certain amount of "wow" in the sustained pitches. But the crowd ambience, the empathetic support of Heard and Smith and, above all, Harris' inspired performance steal the show. Harris plays with lots of funk, soul and power (listen to those building tremulos on "Sweet Lorraine") but still manages to be ceaselessly inventive in his single-note melodic lines. His reading of Monty Alexander's "signature" tune, "Battle Hymn," is every bit as fiery and exciting as the great Jamaican pianist's recorded versions. In fact, many of the moments on this session remind me of nothing less than Oscar's best live trio recordings.

I see that "Live at Otter Crest" is way, way down in sales among Gene Harris recordings. It would be a pity if other listeners take the guy for granted before coming across this gem.

Gone But Not Forgotten.......2002-09-27

The blessing of cd's is that every once in a while some really special stuff emerges, long buried in a vault somewhere, perhaps not deemed fit for vinyl or tape. The curse, of course, is that companies are now able to resurrect some genuine drek and push it on an unsuspecting public--hungry for more Miles, more Coltrane, more Getz, etc.

Gene Harris' Live at Otter Crest is buried treasure. Somehow this artist never quite got his due, laboring in the shadows cast by McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, even the wonderful Red Garland. But Gene Harris was (and is) the real deal. His robust playing is drenched in blues, gospel, some swing, and, of course, soul. You can hardly go wrong by dipping anywhere into Concord's catalogue of Harris' recordings.

But Otter Crest is something special. Harris languished for years in semi-retirement, and this cd catches him just before he
came back with a vengeance. These cuts are not timid babysteps back into jazz. No, Harris, along with Jimmie Smnith on drums and John Heard on bass, explodes back onto the scene. He's tender--but not mushy--on "My Foolish Heart," swinging on "Shiny Stockings," and rolls out the blues on "A Little Blues There."

Oh, and with his 11-plus minute treatment of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" Harris seems to have more than jazz on his mind. Yes, this cut swings, but this song carries its own subtext, and Harris and his audience seem more than aware of it.

Almost every time you see a picture of Harris--with The Three Sounds, with his trio with Ray Brown, or with any group that he fronted--the man seems to be smiling. And why not? Gene Harris had a great first act, a decade-long intermission, and then an exhilarating second act.

Miss him? Of course. But I can always picture that smile. And of the dozen or so recordings of his in my collection--well, every one makes me smile. And makes me grateful for the great man.

GENE HARRIS - - - live with john heard, jimmy smith.......2001-09-04

Gene Harris is simply a master and if you love to here blues and hard-swinging jazz, then LIVE AT OTTER CREST is what you want. The way the live recording gives Gene, Jimmy, and John all potent energy in their playing will make you play this CD again and again. This is also a rare chance to hear Gene Harris imbetween his time with the three sounds and his comeback with ray brown. The bottom line is that any album with Gene Harris will make you swing.

"this is a major event ~ finally released from 1981".......2001-05-04

Always glad to see something from the early '80s in the world of jazz ~ especially when its a group of highly talented musicians ~ Jimmie Smith (drums), John Heard (bass) and led by the man himself, Gene Harris at the piano. And a lot of piano he can play ~ topping the list is blues, followed by jazz, soul and blends of rocking gospel.

Being a big fan was delighted to see this CD come my way ~ originality and his own style of playing, even though his early heros were Fats Waller and Art Tatum, not bad company to be in.

A lot of credit goes to ~ Glen Barros & John Burk (executive producers) and to Concord Jazz for having the insight to go back in the archives for this one ~ and once again getting a big thrill in hearing this for the first time ~ another chapter from this great musician and wonderful human being ~ GENE HARRIS!

Also available on Concord Jazz from Gene Harris ~ "The Best Of The Concord Years-Gene Harris" (CCD2-4930-2) ~ "Alley Cats" (CCD-4859-2) ~ "In His Hands" (CCD-4785-2) ~ "It's Real Soul" (CCD-4692) ~ "Black and Blue" (CCD-4482) ~ "At Last" (CCD-4434) ~ "Listen Here" (CCD-4385), featuring jazz ~ just the way you like it.

Total Time: 47:46 on 6 Tracks...Concord Jazz CCD-4945-2...(2001)

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