Horace Parlan - On the Spur of the Moment
Released - October 1961
Recording and Session Information
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, March 18, 1961
Tommy Turrentine, trumpet; Stanley Turrentine, tenor sax; Horace Parlan, piano; George Tucker, bass; Al Harewood, drums.
tk.1 Ray C.
tk.3 On The Spur Of The Moment
tk.7 And That I Am So In Love
tk.17 Skoo Chee
tk.18 Al's Tune
tk.28 Pyramid
Session Photos
Photos: © Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images
https://www.mosaicrecordsimages.com/
Track Listing
| Side One | ||
| Title | Author | Recording Date |
| On the Spur of the Moment | Horace Parlan | 18 March 1961 |
| Skoo Chee | Booker Ervin | 18 March 1961 |
| And That I Am So in Love | Harold Ousley | 18 March 1961 |
| Side Two | ||
| Al's Tune | Booker Ervin | 18 March 1961 |
| Ray C. | Leon Mitchell | 18 March 1961 |
| Pyramid | Roger Williams | 18 March 1961 |
Liner Notes
"THE group that stays together plays together." This thought has been advanced, if not exactly in these words, by many writers on jazz, including yours truly. It is only natural for a group operating as a permanent unit to present their music in the cohesive, unified manner that often escapes musicians who get together on a casual basis. The familiarity among long-time associates breeds a relaxation that leads to an unstrained flow of music.
The Horace Parlan Quintet is not a permanent group but within it there are two echelons which are solid units. The rhythm section has been together for over a year. Part of that time they were a segment of Lou Donaldson's quintet (June 1959-November 1960) and presently they are members of a co-operative quartet with saxophonist Booker Ervin. Their efforts as a trio have been recorded on Blue Note 4037 and 4062.
The complete musical integration amounts to three, well-oiled gears working in perfect balance to produce a buoyant swing. (And speaking of perfect balance, listen to the way Rudy Van Gelder has captured the unity of their sound while still clearly defining each man's individual contribution.) Parlan says he feels "relaxed and confident" playing with Tucker and Harewood.
The other unit within the body of the group to have a strong rapport is, naturally, the Turrentine brothers. Tommy, the older, was active in the forties with several bands including Billy Eckstine's ahead-of-its-time aggregation. Stanley, who began professionally in Tommy's band at the age of 16 in their native Pittsburgh, later worked with his brother in Earl Bostic's combo (1953-55) and Max Roach's quintet (1958-60). Besides blood ties, the Turrentines have much practical playing experience to strengthen their musical alliance.
There are several connectives between the hornmen and the rhythm section. Like the Turrentines, Parlan is from Pittsburgh. "Even before I began my active career, Tommy was talked about quite a bit in town," says Horace. Tommy's fluid lines and live trumpet sound are as in strong evidence here as they were in Speakin' My Piece (Blue Note 4043), the first recording by the Parlan quintet. His strongest influence, Kenny Dorham, although not overpowering before, has now been almost completely assimilated.
Stanley and Horace have known each other since high school days and played together briefly in the mid-fifties before Horace left for New York. Stan, in his Blue Note recordings of the past year (Look Out - 4039, Blue Hour — 4057, Comin' Your Way — 4065, Up At Minton's — 4069/4070) has established himself as one of the brighter, young tenormen. His style is hard to categorize and therein lies one of the reasons for its strength.
Tommy and Horace got together in Lou Donaldson's quintet in June of 1960 when the trumpeter replaced Bill Hardman. The various associations between and among the various players in the Parlan quintet explains why they are able to function in the manner of a long-established group. And yet, because playing together is not an everyday occurrence, there is an excitement present that is sometimes lacking in groups together too long. In their own way, Parlan and his cohorts have the best of two worlds.
Since his first New York engagement with Charlie Mingus, Horace has shown continuous improvement and become an increasingly more personal pianist. His constant striving for economy of expression has paid off in a lean-meat style. He feels that the year-plus with Donaldson was very helpful to him in general. "The steady playing helped because I hadn't been able to practice — there was no piano available on a regular basis...and Lou plays tunes that no one else would think of playing," Horace explains.
Parlan is a more flowing pianist than ever before. "When you have to think about playing music, it's not like when you just play naturally," he says, referring to the act of creating at the piano. The natural ease and confidence is obvious throughout his solos.
Certainly, there was careful thought in the planning of this album. The title tune is the only one which was an afterthought and even it was conceived on the day of the first rehearsal, not on the day of the actual date.
"I originally intended to use only other composers' work but I woke up with this line running through my head," relates Horace. "On The Spur Of The Moment" is a rhythmic blues line aptly punctuated by the leader's piano. With Harewood's steady pulse and Tucker's solid, inventive bass lines, the soloists all move straight ahead in logical development of their ideas.
Booker Ervin's "Skoo Chee" is a number that Horace had played at Minton's with its composer. The intriguing melody is built on the upper structures of the chords rather than the roots, which explains its different feeling. Ervin has also allowed for freedom in the bridge section. Stanley Turrentine has a soaring solo here. By the end of the piece a good feeling had really been generated among all the players as Stan's spontaneous, uninhibited cries show.
New York tenorman Harold Ousley (a migrant from Chicago) submitted several tunes at Parlan's request. "And That I Am So In Love" "has a pop flavor but it's good for blowing," says Horace. It is a ballad that is swung here but its pretty changes would lend themselves well to a more usual ballad tempo, too. Tommy leaves the carrying of the melody to Stanley but doesn't pass up his chance to improvise a clear, singing solo.
"Al's Tune," a minor blues, is another Ervin tune that Horace grew to like after playing it with Booker. In addition to well-shaped solos by the brothers T. and leader Parlan, there is a highly articulate pizzicato solo by Tucker, leading directly back into the theme.
Leon Mitchell, a writer from Philadelphia who was represented on the last Parlan quintet album by "Oh So Blue," is the composer of "Ray C." It is a minor, 32-bar construction in which Parlan makes good use of his light, chordal approach in a portion of his solo. I don't know if "Ray C." refers to Mr. R. Charles.
I do know that Roger Williams who wrote "Pyramid" is not the same Roger Williams who raked in all the "Autumn Leaves." This Roger Williams is a jazz pianist from Pittsburgh who "was on the scene when I was coming up," says Horace. He's now living in New York and wrote this particular piece three or four years ago. "Pyramid" has rhythmic variety and melodic content. Again Parlan's solo shows thoughtful construction in the manner of Horace's natural way of thinking.
Several times in the course of these notes I have referred to "flow" and used words like "relaxed." This is the tenor of the music. There is an ease in the listening as sure as there is in the playing. And these musicians are not afraid to express happiness. In addition, there is no loss of conviction. This is the best of two worlds.
—IRA GITLER
Photos by FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design by REIF MILES
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER
