Customer Reviews

It's Real Soul: Live Manchester Craftsmen's Guild

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Hard to believe I am the first to review this album. A gem from the opening number Summertime. Listen to this group groove! I recommend this album to anyone who enjoys good (really really good) jazz piano with an ENSEMBLE and I put ensemble in caps to emphasize their solid performance as a group. Buy this CD.

There are few happier sounds in jazz than hearing pianist Gene Harris get into a soulful groove. Famous in the '60s for leading the "Three Sounds", Harris spent a period in the late '70s out of the limelight, returned as a member of the Ray Brown Trio and has been leading his own exciting groups since hooking up with Concord in the mid '80s. His joyous blend of jazz, soul, blues and groove music is impossible to dislike - or forget!

Opening track gives you behind-the-scenes-insight to this great jazz pianist - Harris is completely spellbinding with everything on the table, he shines brighter than any artist to sit at the keyboard. Playing from the heart - God-given-talent who just wants to make people happy.

Hats off to - Concord, John Burke and Allen Farnham (producers) for this trip down memory lane with America's original music - JAZZ...and the "ambassador of the keyboard" - GENE HARRIS!

Total Time: 64:11 on 8 Tracks...Concord Jazz CCD-4692...(1996)

This is the artists that my family takes along on road trips. Now my children MUST have Gene Harris for the road. His interpretation and the "tags" on his selections are both driving and mellow. He's still hip with my 20 something kids!

blues-infused jazz piano. May not be Oscar Peterson, but could play side-by-side.

With a collection of several hundred jazz CD's (and a good number of old records too), this is the best that I have come accross. It fits with any mood and adds to any environment.

I was looking for the Gene Harris-Ray Brown version of "Summertime," but this one is every bit as good if not better. I confess . . . I bought the CD for the one song, but the whole album shows the remarkable improvisational talent of all the musicians. If you are looking for a mellow relaxing CD, this is not the one you want. It's almost impossible to sit still while listening. You'll never be able to listen to the songs performed by another artist without thinking of Gene Harris' version.

I admit it - I wasn't familiar with Gene Harris. Discovered him on my Oscar Peterson channel on Pandora - what a stroke of luck! Hard to add anything to what's already been said about this concert recording. Each musician shines, and together they are sublime. Mellow and cool with some bluesy soul sprinkled over it. Heavenly.

PS: Purchasing USED discs through Amazon is my newest pleasure. The prices cannot be beat, every single one I've purchased has been in fine condition, and what better way to recycle? If you've been reticent to try this, don't fret. I have had perfect luck with Amazon's partners.

I purchase this CD, because I heard a cut that featured flutist Frank Wess on KBEM-FM (Jazz88). I wasn't familiar with Gene Harris prior to this, but I was pleasantly surprised. I have listened to the CD several times and enjoy listening to the entire live concert. The music is both complex and mellow. I will be looking for more music by both Frank Wess and Gene Harris.