© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all
rights reserved.
The editorial
staff at JazzProfiles has plans to include more about tenor saxophonist
Stanley Turrentine in a future feature about “the Texas Tenor style.”
“The Texas Tenor
style” is defined by Ted Gioia in The History of Jazz as:
“A blues-drenched tenor sax
style … characterized by honking’, shoutin’, riffin’, riding high on a single
note or barking out a guttural howl.” [p. 341]
In fairness to Stanley
No bar walkin’ or
jumpin’ in the air and coming down doing the splits for Stanley
Orrin Keepnews in
his insert notes to James Clay’s Double Dose of Soul [Riverside
RLP-9349/OJCCD-1790-2] states it this way:
“For Clay becomes the most
recent addition to a long tradition of outstanding tenormen from the big state
(among them: Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Budd Johnson, most of whom seem to
share the same compelling Texas ‘moan’ in their tone).”
[For the record,
although Stanley Pittsburgh , PA Texas
Jerry Atkins in
his magnificent treatment on the subject for The International Association of
Jazz Record Collector’s IAJRC Journal [Vol. 33, No.2, Spring
2000] puts it more succinctly when he states:
“What is a Texas Lone Star State
Jerry includes in
his essay on Texas Tenormen, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, Budd Johnson , Illinois
I first encountered
Stanley Turrentine’s work on Blue Hour [Blue Note 24586/7243 5
24586 2 2] on which he is paired with The 3 Sounds [Gene Harris, piano, Andy
Simpkins, bass and Bill Dowdy, drums].
We requested
copyright permission from Ira Gitler , who prepared the original liner notes for the album when it was
released in 1960 and from Michael Cuscuna who prepared its release on CD in 1999.
Following their
annotations, you will find a video which contains a an audio
track from this classic album.
If the one of the
ideals of Jazz artists is the creation of an instantly identifiable sound, than
one need to look no farther than Stanley Turrentine as the embodiment of this
signature quality.
One note and you
know it’s him.
© - Ira
Gitler , copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“DO you remember
Longfellow's Children's Hour? Well,
this is the blue hour and it's not for children. The blue hour is that early
morning time when you "reach across the pillow where your baby used to
lay" (part of an accurate blues lyric once sung by Rubberlegs Williams)
and fail to find her (or him) there. It is when the lonely automobile sounds
from the street below, the reflection of the neons and the elongated shadows on
the wall, all serve as reminders of the solitary state.
If there is one thing
that simultaneously reiterates the painful facts and serves as balm for your
bruised soul, it is music. Specifically, the blues are about the most powerful
combination of purgative and emollient that there is.
Blues are like the
people who create them, products of their environment. The blues in Blue Hour
are not the raw, urgent, rural blues. Nevertheless, they are genuinely bluesy
even if not cast in the usual 12-bar mold. They are representative of what is
commonly known as the "blues ballad," blues or blues-inflected songs
with a bridge.
This genre grew
popular in the '40s, especially around the large cities. You heard it both in
the repertoires of the big bands and the small combos.
Although the blues
ballad has mainly been the property of vocalists, many of the melodies are so
attractive that our modern jazzmen began to play them during the '50s. The best
of this type of song has always contained the warmth of the blues coupled with
romantic elements from the "popular" tune. Buddy Johnson's "Since
I Fell For You" (sister Ella Johnson made this one especially convincing)
is an excellent example.
"Gee Baby,
Ain't I Good to You" goes back to the 40s when some memorable versions of
this Don Redman tune were done by Lips Page and Nat Cole. Old Count Basic fans
will remember Jimmy Rushing's original vocal plea of "I Want A Little
Girl."
While never
thought of as a blues ballad, "Willow Weep For Me," qualifies by its
strong blues feeling, even though it approaches the category from another
direction than, say, the "Don't Cry Baby" that Jimmy Mitchelle did in
the '40s with Erskine Hawkins.
The only 12-bar
blues of the set is "Blue Riff" by Gene Harris. The tempo is a bit
faster than any of the other slow-grooved selections but it is in the same
relaxed mood.
No detailed
explanation is needed to tell you about the treatment of these songs here. The
simple act of listening will be self-explanatory.
The horn that
fills Blue Hour with minutes of azure, cobalt, cerulean, navy, sky
and Baby; Baby, is the tenor saxophone of Stanley Turrentine. Although only in
his late 20s, Turrentine has a warmth of style associated with the players of
an earlier period. His first inspirations were Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas and
it is obvious that he learned some valuable lessons from them.
Stan's full-bodied
tenor is ideally suited to the material here. Presently with organist Shirley
Scott's group, he is perhaps best-known for his work with the Max Roach Quintet
during 1959-60. It should be known, however, that he played with Ray Charles in
1952 and Earl Bostic in 1953. Jobs like these were actually long-range
preparation for a date such as Blue Hour.
Since Turrentine's
first Blue Note LP as a leader (Look Out! BN 4039) and his numerous
appearances as a sideman on this label with Horace Parian, Arthur Taylor, etc.,
he has drawn nothing but high praise from a variety of critics. His direct,
honestly emotional playing, embodying elements of the old and the new, pleases
a wide scope of listening taste.
The fly, funky
threesome known as The Three Sounds is very familiar to Blue Note listeners. In
essence, this trio is an export of Benton Harbor , Michigan Indiana Michigan city Richmond , Indiana South Bend
The wedding of
Turrentine and The Three Sounds is the work of an astute matchmaker. Their
insinuating, down stylings are a perfect complement to Stan's tenor. If he is
the hands of the clock which tells us the blue hour, the Sounds are the inner
works with Harris the sweep second hand.
This album has to
make you feel good even when you are really brought down. You don't have to
shake well before using. Use it freely; its healing powers won't diminish. And
if your baby happens to come back and you're feeling all right again, it won't
hurt to enjoy Blue Hour together, even at twelve noon .
— IRA GITLER
original liner notes”
© - Michael
Cuscuna , copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“STANLEY
TURRENTINE was a member of Max Roach's quintet and had just made an album of
his own for Time Records when he made his first Blue Note appearance on a Dizzy
Reece session in April 1960.
Although that
session was not issued until 1999 (Dizzy Reece's Comin' On), he clearly made an
incredible impression on Blue Note's Alfred Lion, Francis Wolff and Ike Quebec.
Three weeks later, he was in the studio with Jimmy Smith making the amazing Midnight
Special and Back At The Chicken Shack albums. Two months later, he made the
first of many albums of his own for the label (Look Out! with the Horace
Parian trio), followed by his first session with The Three Sounds (tracks 4-8
on this CD). That summer, he returned for Blue Note sessions with Horace
Parian, Dizzy Reece, Duke Jordan and Art Taylor. The year 1960 closed with a
second session with The Three Sounds, which produced the original Blue
Hour (Blue Note 84057).
Clearly
Turrentine's juicy, soulful tone, rhythmically hip phrasing and wonderful
melodic ideas were what Blue Note was all about. And for the next nine years,
he
recorded a
succession of wonderful dates for the label as a leader and as a sideman. (He
would also return when the label was reactivated in 1985.)
Gene Harris,
Andrew Simpkins and Bill Dowdy first came together as The Four Sounds (with a
succession of tenor saxophonists) in South Bend , Indiana Ohio Washington , D.C.
Horace Silver was
among the first to sing their praises and bring them to Blue Note's attention.
In September 1958, they came to New York
When they returned
to town in the next February to make their second album Bottoms Up, Alfred Lion
also paired them up with Lou Donaldson for the superb LD + 3 album. When
Stanley Turrentine came into the fold in 1960, he became an ideal candidate for
the same concept. He had the same range and soul that made The Three Sounds one
of the most popular trios of its day.
So on June
29, 1960 the day
after the trio cut "Moods" and "Feelin' Good," they
returned to the studio to record with Turrentine. According to his session
notes, Alfred Lion was worried that Stanley Turrentine sounded better than the
trio that day. The date ended after five tunes with a notation that they would
use the then-untitled blues, "Where Or When" and "There Is No
Greater Love" and finish the album later.
Two days after the
trio recorded "Here We Go" and "It Just Got To Be," on December
16, 1960 they
reconvened with Stanley
Oscar Pettiford's
"Blues In The Closet,' "Just In Time" and a strong alternate
take of"Gee Baby,
Ain't I Good To You" were left in the can.
The album Blue
Hour was released and became an instant classic in the canon of both
Turrentine and The Three Sounds. The extra material from that session and the
first session are what make up the previously unissued second CD on this set.
Although the
prolific Three Sounds stayed with Blue Note until June 1962, they had no more
encounters with special guests except for a single track with Ike Quebec on
which Gene Harris switches to organ (recently issued for the first time on The
Lost Sessions). In October of that year, they made two albums for
Verve, one of which, oddly enough, was a collaboration with Anita O'Day. In
December, the trio began a series of albums for Mercury/Limelight, some of
which included orchestral accompaniment.
When they returned
to Blue Note in 1966, the drum chair was occupied by Kalil Madi (followed by
Donald Bailey, then Carl Burnett). Andy Simpkins left in 1968 and his chair was
filled by Henry Franklin. While they continued to add orchestral backing for
studio albums, that funky, hard-driving trio sound remained at the core of the
group's identity and appeal. Some of their most rewarding sessions in those
years were live recordings at the London House (Limelight), the Lighthouse and
the It Club (Blue Note).
It would have been
great to hear The Three Sounds with Stitt or Gene Ammons or any number of
like-minded saxophonists. But at least we have their collaborations with Lou
Donaldson and Stanley Turrentine to enjoy and now we have twice as much music
from their meetings with Stanley
— MICHAEL CUSCUNA
1999”
