BLP 4248

The Three Sounds - Vibrations

Released - January 1967

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 25, 1966
Gene Harris, piano, organ; Andrew Simpkins, bass; Kalil Madi, drums.

tk.3 Let's Go Get Stoned
tk.5 Fever
tk.9 The Lamp Is Low
tk.12 Charade
tk.18 Yeh Yeh
tk.23 Django
tk.33 Yours Is My Heart Alone
tk.35 Something You Got
tk.40 The Frown
tk.46 It Was A Very Good Year

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
The Frown	Gene Harris	October 25 1966
Fever	Eddie Cooley, Davenport	October 25 1966
Let's Go Get Stoned	Joey Armstead, Ashford, Simpson	October 25 1966
Something You Got	Chris Kenner	October 25 1966
Yeh Yeh	Grant, Hendricks, Patrick	October 25 1966
Side Two
It Was a Very Good Year	Drake	October 25 1966
The Lamp Is Low	de Rose, Parish, Ravel, Shefter	October 25 1966
Yours Is My Heart Alone	Ludwig Herzer [de], Lehár, Löhner	October 25 1966
Django	John Lewis	October 25 1966
Charade	Mancini, Mercer	October 25 1966

Liner Notes

IT has been said before by several critics (present company included) that The Three Sounds' consistent display of musical togetherness entitles them to call themselves The One Sound. This happy unity, refleeted visually and aurally in their night club performances, is translated via tape to their LPs in a manner that has built an ever-growing following for them within and beyond the ranks of jazz enthusiasts, from Funkville to Soultown.

The word jazz can be used without hesitation in any evaluation of the trio's performances, even though the demarcation lines are growing thinner every day as the jazz combos, the rhythm-and-blues units and the rock groups dip into one another's repertoires and even borrow musical ideas from one another, usually to beneficial effect. Certainly this is true of The Three Sounds and of the provocatively diverse choice of tunes that makes up their latest album. This set, incidentally, marks their return to the Blue Note label, on which they were originally introduced to the public in 1958. That they felt very much at ease and back home in these surroundings can be detected in the spirit of the performances.

An unusual and intriguing aspect of the present album is the "dual-personality" role played by Gene Harris, who doubles on Hammond organ and piano in three of the tracks.

"This was an idea I had been thinking about for quite some time," says Gene. "I'd been playing around on organ for kicks every once in a while, sitting in for Groove Holmes, Jack McDuff and Jimmy Smith. When Jimmy said I sounded pretty good, I decided it might be an interesting experiment to comp for myself on one instrument while I played a solo on the other."

This is precisely what happens on The Frown, which is Gene's (and my) favorite track. After introducing the theme on organ with side comments from the piano, he switches to the piano for some blowing choruses, with organ playing an accompanying riff. In this track, as well as on the other two numbers that use organ, the regular trio was recorded first with Gene at the piano, and the organ part was overdubbed later — a simple procedure nowadays, and one that no longer diminishes in any way the brilliance of the recorded sound quality. The Frown, a Gene Harris composition, seems to contradict its title in the reaction it has aroused among everyone who has heard it to date.

Fever is popularly associated with the hit record by Peggy Lee; historians who have dug deeper will recall the name of Little Willie John, with whom it originated. Gene stays close to the minor-mode melody most of the way, while Andy supplies a happy, loping two-beat rhythm throughout and a steady eight pulse is furnished by the trio's most recent addition, Kalil Madi, who replaced Bill Dowdy a while back. Kalil, a Clevelander, carne to prominence in the bands of Erskine Hawkins and Cootie Williams, later working with Red Garland, Randy Weston and in the accompanying trios for several prominent singers.

Let's Go Get Stoned was, of course, a Ray Charles record hit. "We decided to take this one nice and easy," says Gene, "so we just sat back and let it flow. The tune has nice changes, too, for a blues." Gently guided by Kalil's triplets, Gene immerses this one in the deep-dish soul groove of which The Sounds have long been preeminent exponents.

Something You Got was recorded in 1964 by Ramsey Lewis. The Sounds' treatment differs conspicuously. First, the tempo is quite a bit brighter; second, Gene introduces the melody on organ. There is also an added element of contrast in the middle section, when Gene switches the beat from rhythm-and-blues to a solid swinging four-four and offers some of the purest jazz to be found anywhere in this album. Note again the ingenious interlocking of the piano and organ parts.

Yeh Yeh was born in Mongo Santamaria's band, nourished in England by singer Georgie Fame (who used the lyrics that had been added by Jon Hendricks) and has remained a blues-derived standard since then. Watch for the admirable illustrations of the trio's use of dynamics, in the form of a dramatic crescendo.

It Was A Very Good Year ("My next favorite track after The Frown," says Gene) features the organ again, including some interesting effects achieved by piano-and-organ-in-unison.

Side Two opens with a couple of pop standards both originally popular around 1940, The Lamp is Low and Yours is My Heart Alone. Dig the tasteful effect of Andy's repeated bass figure on the former as Gene outlines the melody very simply, mostly in octaves. Andy is a major contributor on Heart also, this time for his characteristically sturdy walking.

Django, the John Lewis composition dedicated to the late Django Reinhardt (but, ironically, featured more often by pianists than by guitarists), has the kind of melodic line that can tend, in the wrong hands, to sound a trifle gloomy; however, Gene achieves a spirit that is wistful and lyrically nostalgic in the opening and closing passages. The main body of the performance moves faster, with a firm beat, and with touches of Percy Heath's original line in Andy's role. Kalil swings discreetly throughout this central passage.

Charade is swung in a style rarely used for this Henry Mancini movie theme. "We changed the release around just a little," says Gene.

The variety of material, and the surprise addition of the organ, combine to establish this as one of The Sounds' most enjoyable albums to date. "It was a happy session all the way," says Gene. "And by the way, the organ may not be the last surprise. I've been studying vibes, so watch out for future developments!"

—LEONARD FEATHER

(Author of "The New Edition of the Encyclopedia of Jazz", Bonanza Books)

Cover Photo & Design by REID MILES
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER