In His Hands

Gene Harris | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 27, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Concord Records
• ASIN: B0000006QZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,822 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "The Devil's Music" meets the Lord's, September 16, 2000

By 

Tim Smith "Tim Smith" (Bonney Lake, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In His Hands (Audio CD)

Is this a jazz or gospel CD? The answer is: yes. Nothing challenging
here, just some praiseworthy good times. If you have been fortunate
enough to attend church meetings with keyboardists like the late (and
greatly-missed) Gene Harris or Jack McDuff, then you know what much of
the shouting is about at those big revival meetings. I'm a big Gene
Harris fan and he was in fine form here, swinging particularly hard on
"Battle Hymn of the Republic", "This Little Light of Mine"
and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." It's obvious that Gene loved
and was comfortable with this music and these songs. The two biggest
surprises for me (both pleasant) were "Amazing Grace" and
"(Jesus Keeps Me) Near the Cross". When I first heard
"Amazing Grace", I was sure it was Ray Charles. Vocalist Curtis
Stigers does a beautifully soulful job on this timeless classic while
Gene plays some very bluesy piano. "(Jesus Keeps Me) Near the
Cross" is a duet between McDuff and Harris that brought back
memories of my childhood. I was taken back to the days when I would
be home from school and my mother would listen to Gospel radio all
morning while she did her chores. How I would have liked to have
heard Gene play "The Old Rugged Cross"!

When I first listened
to this CD, I was slightly disappointed. I realized later, however,
that the disappointment was due to my preconceived notions of what I
thought the CD would be like. Once I accepted it for what Gene wanted
it to be and not what I thought it would be, I grew to like it. Now,
I listen to it quite often.

If you are under the impression that
Gospel music is boring or that jazz can't be done reverently, give
this a listen and be disabused of that impression. If you're a Gene
Harris fan, you'll enjoy this effort.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Gene Harris versions of Spirituals, October 9, 2001

By 

David Haile (Ft. Collins, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In His Hands (Audio CD)

Gene Harris has used some unique vocalists for this recording, and it works very well! His daughter Niki does a fantastic version of Battle Hymn of the Republic. It is also good to hear some refreshing renditions of standards that we don't hear too often - This Little Light Of Mine is a favorite.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Devil's Music and the Lord's, September 28, 2000

By 

Tim Smith "Tim Smith" (Bonney Lake, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In His Hands (Audio CD)

Is this a jazz or gospel CD? The answer is: yes. Nothing challenging here, just some praiseworthy good times. If you have been fortunate enough to attend church meetings with keyboardists like the late (and greatly-missed) Gene Harris or Jack McDuff, then you know what much of the shouting is about at those big revival meetings. I'm a big Gene Harris fan and he was in fine form here, swinging particularly hard on "Battle Hymn of the Republic", "This Little Light of Mine" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." It's obvious that Gene loved and was comfortable with this music and these songs. The two biggest surprises for me (both pleasant) were "Amazing Grace" and "(Jesus Keeps Me) Near the Cross". When I first heard "Amazing Grace", I was sure it was Ray Charles. Vocalist Curtis Stigers does a beautifully soulful job on this timeless classic while Gene plays some very bluesy piano. "(Jesus Keeps Me) Near the Cross" is a duet between McDuff and Harris that brought back memories of my childhood. I was taken back to the days when I would be home from school and my mother would listen to Gospel radio all morning while she did her chores. How I would have liked to have heard Gene play "The Old Rugged Cross"!

When I first listened to this CD, I was slightly disappointed and nearly gave it only three stars. After a few more listens I realized, however, that the disappointment was due to my preconceived notions of what I thought the CD would be like. Once I accepted it for what Gene wanted it to be and not what I thought it would be, I grew to like it. Now, I listen to it quite often.

If you are under the impression that Gospel music is boring or that jazz can't be done reverently, give this a listen and see if maybe your opinion doesn't change.