A Spirited Remembrance of Gene Harris

Gene Harris’ life was celebrated Wednesday night in a fashion that would surely have made him happy--with an upbeat, jam session-style performance before an audience of his friends and fans. The event in the Lobby Court of the Westin L.A. Airport Hotel was an early observance of the veteran pianist’s birthday.

Harris died Jan. 16 of complications from kidney failure, a month before he was scheduled for a transplant from his daughter, Beth; he would have been 67 today.

The ensemble consisted of virtually the entire band from the 1998 performance at Seattle’s Jazz Alley club that produced the latest Harris CD, “Alley Cats”: Red Holloway and Ernie Watts on saxophones; Frank Potenza, guitar; Luther Hughes, bass; and Paul Kreibich, drums. The leader’s chair was filled by Paul Tillotson, a talented Harris protege. Soprano saxophonist (and television composer) John Altman sat in on a few numbers, and Barbara Morrison added a mix of ballads and her sure-to-get-the-crowd-cooking blues numbers.

The playing was loose and spirited, with ample room for soloing. And when Tillotson revived the elements of the Harris style in the closing set with a pair of irrepressibly rhythmic solos on “Blues March” and “Listen Here,” it probably was true, as host Helen Borgers from jazz radio station KLON-FM suggested, that “the spirit of Gene Harris is in the house tonight.”

But the best part of the evening was the sheer, casual spontaneity of it all. Numbers were selected without any special planning. Musicians chatted and interacted with the audience. And the location of the program, in a lobby with arriving guests looking quizzically at the bandstand and, at one point, a teenager doing a spontaneous dance of his own invention, further emphasized the sort of relaxed, good-vibes qualities that were always essential to the music of Gene Harris.

* The Harris tribute continues tonight at Steamers Cafe, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, with Potenza, Hughes, Tillotson and Kreibich, 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (714) 871-8800. The full ensemble also will appear at the Hollywood Park Casino, 3883 W. Century Blvd., Tuesday at 8 and 10:30 p.m. (310) 330-2841.