Ace Harris

Asa "Ace" Harris (April 1, 1910, New York City – June 11, 1964, Chicago) was an American jazz pianist.

Harris played in several territory bands in the 1930s, working with Billy Steward's Serenaders in 1932 and with Bill Mears's Sunset Royal Serenaders from 1935. In 1937 Harris took over leadership of the Sunset Royal Serenaders, and recorded with them that same year; he remained with the group until 1939.

In 1940 Harris became Pianist for Bill Kenny & The Ink Spots replacing Bob Benson. Harris can be heard playing Piano with The Ink Spots on many Top 10 Pop hits including "Whispering Grass", "Maybe", "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)", "Java Jive", "I'll Never Smile Again", "I'd Climb The Highest Mountain", "We'll Meet Again", "Do I Worry", "Until The Real Thing Comes Along", "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire", "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat", "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie" and more. After Harris died in 1964, another Piano player named "Johnny Harris" toured with a group pretending to be The Ink Spots. This other "Johnny Harris" pretended to be the Johnny "Ace" Harris that recorded toured and appeared in movies with the original Ink Spots and made that claim until his death in 2000.

In 1944, Harris recorded with Hot Lips Page, then joined the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, with whom he recorded several times. He played with Hawkins until 1947, and returned to play with him again in 1950–51. Harris also recorded with small ensembles in the 1940s and with a jump blues band in 1951–52. He played at the Cloister Inn in Chicago in 1954.

A compact disc of Harris's recordings spanning 1937–52 was released by Jazz Classics in 2004.

Birth and Death Data: Born April 1, 1910 (New York City), Died June 11, 1964 (Chicago)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1945 - 1956

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, vocalist, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-38 of 38 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 81520 9/7/1951 Don't cry, little girl Ace Harris instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Decca 82262 2/7/1952 That's how it goes Ace Harris vocalist  
Decca 82263 2/7/1952 Sentimental tears Ace Harris vocalist  
Decca 82264 2/7/1952 Two wrongs never make a right Ace Harris vocalist  
Decca 82265 2/7/1952 One for my baby (and one more for the road) Ace Harris vocalist  
Decca 82274 2/11/1952 While we're young Milton Larkins ; The X-Rays instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 82275 2/11/1952 Walking in the sunshine Milton Larkins ; The X-Rays instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 82276 2/11/1952 Ace's boogie Ace Harris instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Decca 82277 2/11/1952 Don't buy blues Ace Harris instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
Decca 89338 2/9/1956 The yurt Erskine Hawkins Orchestra instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 89339 2/9/1956 Put your feet down on the ground Erskine Hawkins Orchestra instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 89340 2/9/1956 Nobody plays piano like Sacramento Erskine Hawkins Orchestra instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 89341 2/9/1956 Waltz in blue Erskine Hawkins Orchestra instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 26-38 of 38 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Harris, Ace," accessed April 24, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106384.

Harris, Ace. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106384.

"Harris, Ace." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106384

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