LT-1095

Stanley Turrentine - Ain't No Way

Released - 1981

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, May 10, 1968
Stanley Turrentine, tenor sax; Shirley Scott, organ; Bob Cranshaw, electric piano; Jimmy Ponder, guitar; Ray Lucas, drums.

3022 tk.8 Ain't No Way

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, June 23, 1969
Stanley Turrentine, tenor sax; McCoy Tyner, piano, electric piano; Gene Taylor, bass; Billy Cobham, drums.

tk.4 Intermission Walk
tk.7 Stan's Shuffle
tk.14 Watch What Happens
tk.19 Wave

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Stan's Shuffle	Stanley Turrentine	June 23 1969
Watch What Happens	M. Legrand-N. Gimbel	June 23 1969
Intermission Walk	Tommy Turrentine	June 23 1969
Side Two
Wave	A. Jobim	June 23 1969
Ain't No Way	Carolyn Franklin	May 10 1968

Liner Notes

STANLEY TURRENTINE

The ascendency of Stanley Turrentlne to the status of "Major Artist" (with capital letters) during the 1970s was one of the most gratifying events of that decade. In a decade where musicians left and right were copping out, dropping out, and selling out, it's nice to see one cat do it on the force of his own distinct personality.

And that personality remains largely unchanged from what it was at the time of this recording (or, for that matter, when he began with Blue Note in 1960). As is the case so often with great jazz players, it takes time for the word to get around. Think of all the big hits on CTI, Fantasy, and Elektra, and then remember that what you get on Blue Note is the same man without the strings, horns and backup singers doing better tunes with better rhythm sections. Stanley's own playing is as timeless as any jazz player you have ever heard.

Perhaps the most important facet of Turrentine's playing is his tone. Inevitably tone is the one component that distinguishes a player from someone else. It's the trademark, the calling card or the I.D. Stanley's tone is full in all registers, yet it has its own characteristics which separate it from that of a Gene Ammons, Illinois Jacquet or other full-toned tenor star. It is most distinct in the upper register. Now Stanley generally eschews the false-fingered screams and squeals of tenor players associated with the avant garde (or rhythm & blues), but his upper register punctuations have a tapered sound to them so that the effect is just as piercing as any of the cats who are more blatant about going upstairs. Forgive this attempt at imagery, but think of it in terms of a velvet shriek.

Stanley also has a unique conception of tempo. Listen to Watch What Happens as an example. You've no doubt heard the Michel Legrand melody before, but it is unlikely that you've ever heard it as slow as this. At first listen it seems wrong, but on repeated hearings, it feels right. And dig the way Stanley invests the melody with that sound of his. He has done this sort of thing on several previous occasions.

On his own Stan's Shuffle, or his brother Tommy's Intermission Walk, the tempo is very right. This rhythm section may, on the surface, seem to be a strange mixture, but they carry things beautifully without a hitch. For the record, McCoy Tyner was a frequent pianist on Stanley's Blue Note sessions during this period (including New Time Shuffle and Mr. Natural in the Classic series). Within a short time he would abandon sideman sessions in order to concentrate on his own music. In retrospect, this was a good decision for Tyner, since he would also become one of the emergent stars of the 70s with his highly distinctive approach to jazz. Here he reflects some of the Wynton Kelly influence that was much a part of his 1959-1969 style when away from the John Coltrane group.

Bassist Gene Taylor and drummer Billy Cobham were graduates of different editions of the Horace Silver Quintet. At the time of this session, Taylor was working with Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook who comprised the front line of the Silver group during Taylor's own tenure. When that band broke up, Taylor dropped off the Jazz scene for a while touring with singer Judy Collins. His return to the scene in recent years has been gratifying and his playing is consistently fresh and inventive these days.

Billy Cobham is that rare drummer who can work in jazz or rock context with equal ability. One of the most recorded drummers of the 1970s, he was close to his involvement with Dreams, one of the first jazz/rock bands, at the time of this date. It is significant that there are no drums solos here. The great rhythm players will tell you that sometime it is rewarding enough just to play time and swing.

With this performance of Ain't No Way we drop into a different bag and a different session. The song was written by Carolyn Franklin and introduced by Sister Aretha on her "Lady Soul" album. If you want an example of Stanley's blues passion, dig his last chorus here. Jimmy Ponder, a splendid guitarist, then as now follows with a nice spot sustaining the groove and then we come to Shirley Scott. A unique organist, Shirley has an immediately identifiable sound and she builds the tune strongly, preparing for the return of Mister T. This one is really righteous from start to finish!

But then there is very little that Stanley Turrentine plays that doesn't have conviction behind it. You don't keep building a reputation as a great jazzman via shuck and jive. To be sure, there are some LPs that Stanley might like to have redone, but this isn't one of them. The quartet date was his final Blue Note session, and it capped a decade of marvelous music for him and the label. Both would continue to produce jazz of the same standards, but things would be different from this point forward. For those of you with a special love of Stanley and his Blue Note sound, don't fear. There will be more Classics, but for right now, you have "Ain't No Way',' a significant addition to the legacies of Blue Note and Stanley Turrentine.

—Bob Porter
WBGO-FM, Newark

Notes for the 2012 CD Edition

The session that makes up the first four tunes on this album had its origins in Turrentine's "Easy Walker" (4268), an excellent 1966 quartet album with McCoy Tyner at the piano. This 1968 session, as good as it is, did not yield enough material for an album. Interestingly the quartet here is completed by Horace Silver's former bassist Gene Taylor and his current drummer Billy Cobham.  

Fortunately I was able to find one more releasable tune from a 1968 session with organist Shirley Scott. That's way this LT album contained material from two very different sessions.  
 
- Michael Cuscuna