In His Hands (1996)

About this title: Not only is this gospel album a huge change of pace for Gene Harris, it is also a major departure for Concord Jazz, whose mainstream rep is so ingrained that one would have expected Harris to jump labels in order to do this. For Harris, this is not totally unexpected -- a lot of his work with the Three Sounds had a strong gospel feeling -- but here he goes all the way over and leans into the call-and-response rhetoric with an expansive fervor, while also getting in some blues-drenched licks with his right hand. To drive home the rootsy point, Harris provides backing for the gospel vocals of ... read more

Tracks:

1. Lean on Me [Withers]
2. Battle Hymn of the Republic [Howe/Steffe]
3. Will the Circle Be Unbroken [Traditional]
4. Everything Must Change [Ighner]
5. Amazing Grace [Newton]
6. Lord, I've Tried [Brewster]
7. Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross [Crosby/Doane]
8. This Little Light of Mine [Nix]
9. Operator [Spivey]
10. His Eye Is on the Sparrow [Martin/Gabriel]
11. He's Got the Whole World in His Hands [Love]
12. Grandpa's Hands [Harris]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.