3-85193-2

Stanley Turrentine - A Bluish Bag

Released - 2007

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, February 17, 1967
Donald Byrd, trumpet; Julian Priester, trombone; Jerry Dodgion, alto sax, flute; Stanley Turrentine, tenor sax; Joe Farrell, tenor sax, flute; Pepper Adams, baritone sax, clarinet; Kenny Barron, piano; Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar; Ron Carter, bass; Mickey Roker, drums; Duke Pearson, arranger.

1839 tk.4 She's A Carioca
1840 tk.9 Samba Do Aviao
1841 tk.14 Manha De Carnaval
1842 tk.15 What Now My Love
1843 tk.24 Night Song
1844 tk.32 Here's That Rainy Day
1845 tk.41 Blues For Del

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, June 9, 1967
Blue Mitchell, Tommy Turrentine, trumpet; Julian Priester, trombone; Jerry Dodgion, flute, alto sax; Pepper Adams, clarinet, baritone sax; Al Gibbons, bass clarinet, tenor sax; Stanley Turrentine, tenor sax; McCoy Tyner, piano; Walter Booker, bass; Mickey Roker, drums; Duke Pearson, arranger.

1904 tk.16 With This Ring
1905 tk.15 Silver Tears
1906 tk.20 A Bluish Bag
1907 tk.26 Come Back To Me
1908 tk.30 Days Of Wine And Roses

See Also: LT-993, BN-LA-394-H2, 5-17462-2

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff

Track Listing

Title	Author	Recording Date
Blues For Del	Stanley Turrentine	February 17 1967
She's A Carioca	Jobim-Gilbert-de Moraes	February 17 1967
Manha Da Carnaval	A. Maria-L. Bonfa	February 17 1967
Here's That Rainy Day	J. Burke-J. Van Heusen	February 17 1967
What Now My Love	Sigman-Becaud-Delande	February 17 1967
Samba De Aviao	Antonio Carlos Jobim	February 17 1967
Night Song	C. Strouse-L. Adams	February 17 1967
Days Of Wine And Roses	H. Mancini-J. Mercer	June 9 1967
Come Back To Me	A.J. Lerner-B. Lane	June 9 1967
Silver Tears	Henry Mancini	June 9 1967
A Bluish Bag	Henry Mancini	June 9 1967
With This Ring	Dixon-Wylie-Hester	June 9 1967

Liner Notes

In his nine years with Blue Note, Stanley Turrentine was one of the label's most versatile and restless artists. He recorded with organ trios, quartets with piano, hard-bop quintets and sextets, Duke Pearson-arranged dates with four to seven horn front lines, the Oliver Nelson big band, and even with strings on two occasions. In terms of material, he was equally skilled in interpreting complex jazz tunes by Max• Roach or Randy Weston, Brazilian melodies from Jobim and Bonfa, standards, blues ballads by Ray Charles or Percy Mayfield, Motown tunes, and pop songs.

Turrentine may have been born in Pittsburgh, but his sound on the tenor saxophone is pure Texas: rich, vibrato-less, hard driving but vulnerable, and concise in thought and phrase. And why not — he cut his teeth professionally with Lowell Fulson and Ray Charles in the early-fifties.

On July 1, 1966, during his seventh year with the label, Turrentine collaborated with Duke Pearson for the first time to record Rough 'N' Tumble, an album that took a very old setting (four horns and four rhythm) and fashioned it into something new. Without forsaking the feel of the riff-based Kansas City tradition and bluesy, "organ chord" approach to horns that took shape in the early-fifties, Duke Pearson's inventive arrangements were able to apply this wonderful sound to modern jazz, timeless blues, and recent pop material in an exciting and fresh way. In September, they followed up with The Spoiler, adding a fifth horn to the mix.

What followed in the first half of 1967 were four more sessions with basically the same format which were not issued at the time. Instead, perhaps because Blue Note founder Alfred Lion retired that July and because Liberty Records, the label's new owners, saw a larger sales potential for this artist, Turrentine recorded two orchestral albums of pop tunes with strings and charts by Pearson and Thad Jones (The Look of Love and Always Something There).

The first seven songs here comprise the output of the first session, February 17, 1967. The instrumentation is expanded by adding another tenor saxophone chair, probably in an effort to lessen Turrentine's responsibility as he is the primary, and often only, soloist throughout.

Turrentine's "Blues for Del," no doubt named for New York disc jockey Del Shields, is a straight-four, medium-tempo, riff blues with a wonderful groove set down by Mickey Roker. Turrentine's ability to Fashion uplifting, melodic ideas out of the simple blues is on display. Donald Byrd and Kenny Barron also solo. But Kenny's comping and Pearson's horn writing are highlights as well.

The Brazilian tunes — "She's a Carioca," "Manha da Carnaval," and "Samba de Aviao" — were probably Duke Pearson's idea as many of his own Blue Note sessions were becoming more Brazilian in both material and sidemen. Pearson makes great use of Byrd's muted trumpet, the flutes of Jerry Dodgion and Joe Farrell, and Buck)' Pizzarelli's acoustic guitar in these beautiful arrangements. Antonio Carlos Jobim's "She's a Carioca" is taken at a slower tempo than usual and includes a flute solo by Joe Farrell after the tenor spot. Luis Bonfa's "Manha da Carnaval" from the film score of Black Orpheus is given Pearson's most involved treatment with a wonderful part for Pepper Adams's baritone sax. The solos by Turrentine and Barron are taken in double time. Jobim's "Samba de Aviao" (or "Jet Samba") features some lovely writing for a reed section of flute, alto flute, and clarinet.

The magnificent 1953 Johnny Burke-Jimmy Van Heusen song "Here's That Rainy Day" has always been a favorite among jazz singers, but Stan Getz and Paul Desmond made definitive instrumental versions in 1964. Turrentine's tender but muscular approach to ballads is entirely different from theirs, and with beautiful voicings from Pearson's pen, he puts forth an exceptional version of his own. Duke later used this arrangement for his own big band's second album Now Hear This! Jerry Dodgion, who plays the flute introduction here, was the featured soloist on alto sax for that version.

Gilbert Becaud's "What Now My Love" was a recent hit in the States and would soon be subject to countless annoying versions with choppy and/or march-rhythm arrangements. Turrentine and Pearson just swing it in an easy 4/4 rhythm that brings out the real musical meat of the song. Kenny Barron's fills on Stanley's statement of the theme are incredibly clever. Turrentine is relaxed and cool in his solo, working in an unlikely quote of '"Don't Explain."

"Night Song" comes from the 1964 Broadway show Golden Boy and features Duke's most conventional arrangement of the session. This song gained some jazz currency at the time with versions released by J. J. Johnson, Clark Terry, Frank Foster, and Kenny Burrell, among others. Turrentine and Donald Byrd are the soloists.

This session had a strange fate. In 1975, Duke Pearson put together a series of double-album retrospectives by key Blue Note artists. In the case of Turrentine, he chose to include six previously unissued tunes — three of them (the two Jobim tunes and "Night Song") from this session. Four years later, I issued the other four on an album entitled New Time Shuffle.

The second of the four '67 dates took place on June 9th and has never been issued before. All of the material is contemporary and, with the exception of the R&B hit "With This Ring," it comes from films or Broadway shows. (A cover version of "Message to Michael" was attempted at this session, but a releasable take was never achieved.) The guitar is replaced by a second trumpet and Pearson's resourceful writing for six horns takes on the flavor and sound of a big band.

"The Days of Wine and Roses," from the 1964 Film of the same name, is one of Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer's best-known collaborations. Duke's wonderful and ambitious arrangement taken at a bright tempo frames exuberant solos by Stanley and McCoy Tyner that are devoid of the regretful melancholy conveyed in the original lyric. McCoy, incidentally, had recorded his own trio version four years earlier on Nights of Ballads and Blues (Impulse!). Pearson expanded this arrangement for his own big band the following year.

"Come Back to Me" is from the 1965 Lerner & Lane musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. The tempo, rhythm, and arrangement are considerably more soulful than the song as originally written. Turrentine and Tyner take joyous and vivid solos.

"Silver Tears" and "A Bluish Bag" come From the 1967 film Gunn, based on the TV series Peter Gunn that debuted in 1958, catapulting Henry Mancini to fame and greatly increasing the use of jazz on television. Ten days after this session, Shelly Manne recorded an entire album of music from the film (Jazz Gunn, Atlantic), including these two pieces. And there ends their presence in the jazz repertoire. "Silver Tears" is a haunting ballad, richly scored by Pearson for brass and woodwinds, with a passionate solo by the tenor saxophonist. "A Bluish Bag" has an attractive jazz melody played over a bass-and-backbeat-driven rhythm section. Turrentine and Tyner take delightful solos.

"With This Ring" was a major hit for the second edition of The Platters (with Sonny Turner as lead vocalist). Except for Pearson's extravagant intro and some slick section licks, the spirit of the arrangement and tempo stay true to the original hit. When Stanley Turrentine has a handle on a song, there's no better instrumentalist to cover a hit. His bright, boisterous solo is a wonderful series of variations on the melody.

The remaining two 1967 Turrentine sessions with Pearson's chart will be the subject of a future release.

— MICHAEL CUSCUNA, 2007