Gene Perla is an American jazz bassist and a longstanding figure on the New York scene, best known for anchoring drummer Elvin Jones's groups during the early 1970s. Born in 1940, he studied piano at the Berklee School of Music and the Boston Conservatory before switching to double bass, and went on to work with Woody Herman, Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Rollins, Nina Simone, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. In 1975 he co-founded the group Stone Alliance with Don Alias and Steve Grossman. He also founded PM Records, whose catalog included albums by Steve Grossman, Elvin Jones, Pat LaBarbera, and Dave Liebman. Perla has taught at Lehigh University and the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.
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