Customer Reviews

Complete Blue Hour Sessions

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gene Harris is one of the best piano players out there, and this pairing with Mr. T is a bona-fide 5 Star classic. Having not heard it for a long time due to a totally worn out LP, I can't remember it ever sounding better; on top of which, now, we get the entire session. More Soul, more swinging, grooving Tenor genius, and a whole lot more fun and enjoyment. Stan is one of the few players on his instrument that can blow the funkiest blues on one track, and then turn around and astound you with his technical (yet always groovy) prowess on the very next cut. Stanley Turrentine was SPECIAL, and he is missed - terribly so.

For me, there is simply nothing that I can say that would do justice to the feel, the emotion that this record brings. Turn down the lights, open a bottle of red wine, put on a fire, and pull a blanket up and let the record toss you on the grill like a pat of cold butter. It's slow, and warm, and soothing to the soul. It melts me down and feels like something so good it should be forbidden.

This is yet another great reissue from the Bluenote catalog. Highly recommended for blues lovers like me, it is jazz with a heavy duty dose of blues right from the starting cut "I Want a Little Girl." Also, "Since I fell For You" is very tasty as is the title cut. The 2 disc set features very tight support from the Three Sounds (Gene Harris -p; Andrew Simpkins -b; Bill Dowdy -d). But Turrentine's rich tone is the star. Check out the nice groove Turrentine carves out on "Blue Riff" then Harris jumps in with some smokin' work on the 88s. There isn't a weak tune on either disc. The session details indicate the recording dates as two in 1960 (Dec 16 & June 29), and it was digitally transferred using 24-bit resolution for maximum depth and fidelity. This is classic hard bop at its very best.

I hate to be the first non-five star review here (and would prefer to just write descriptive comments without the value judgements of star ratings). This is a very enjoyable set, with about 95 minutes of very soulful, bluesy playing over the two cds. Unlike a lot of blues saxophone, one doesn't really get the feel that Turrentine is out in front of the band intensely purging his emotions. Instead he plays somewhat softly, and in a way what that is more integrated with the rest of the band. This tendency to blend in with the other players rather than standing out in front of them is a real hallmark of Turrentine's style. As a result, the quality of his playing often depends on the quality of the musicians he is playing with. In Midnight Blue, this produces some amazing playing from Turrentine, as Kenny Burrell is absolutely on fire playing alongside him. Here, the "three sounds" (Gene Harris on piano, Andrew Simpkins on bass, and Bill Dowdy on drums) play some great blues, but there isn't a great deal of variation in the playing. Most of the tunes are standards that have been reworked as blues tunes. The two tunes by Harris--"Blue Riff," and "Blue Hour"--are my favorites because his playing seems the most inspired, but they stick largely within the same basic range of blues figures as the other tunes. Overall, this is a highly enjoyable set of bluesy jazz that contains frequent moments of really inspired playing. It is highly recommended to fans of Midnight Blue or other more introspective blues saxophone. However, it you're looking for someone really blowing his heart out (e.g. Oliver Nelson's Screaming the Blues) or simply for a broader range of playing, you may want to look elsewhere.

Some friends gave me this 2 CD Set for my birthday last year, and it has become one of my favorites. It's such a relaxing blend of talent. Smooth jazz w/ Turrentine on tenor sax, Gene Harris on piano, Andrew Simpkins on bass and Bill Dowdy on drums. Orginally released in 1960, this is some of the best jazz I've ever heard! Stanley Turrentine may not be as well known as some other jazz greats like Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck or Charlie Parker, but that doesn't mean the talent isn't there...because it certainly is! He is a jazz legend in his own right, or so I feel. Afterall, he did play a gig in the early years w/ Ray Charles and he and trumpeter brother, Tommy Turrentine Jr, played a couple of years in the Max Roach quintet. His music is very underated in my opinon.

I liked the reviewers' comments from Oregon. Read it....it's exactly what you wanna do when listening to this set. Even if you aren't a big jazz fan, this is something that I think most anyone would enjoy listening to. It's that light and that smooth. Blue Hour stays in my CD player. These cd's are remastered for your ultimate audio pleasure. Also, the liner notes give detailed info on the recording of these sessions, which is really interesting. Kick back and relax to the ultimate max with Blue Hour.

I was really bummed to wake up and hear that Stanley passed away yesterday (9/12/2000). He is probably my all time favorite sax player and this album is definitely a must. I especially like his rendition of "Willow Weep For Me". SRV's review is right on for this album. Other great Turrentine work can be found on Jimmy Smith's "Back At The Chicken Shack" and "Midnight Special" and ex-wife Shirley Scott's "Blue Flames" (my favorite)and "Queen Of The Organ". Rest in peace Stanley, the jazz world has lost one of its greats.

The "late night music" album has a pretty long tradition in jazz - the kind of introspective music that you hear as you sit alone nursing your drink at the bar during last call, or maybe looking out the window on a rainy night. Blue Note released several such albums and Blue Hour is one of them. But it's not the best.

I have no real beef with Stanley's soulful and bluesy playing on this one, though I've heard better playing from him. The rhythm section leaves something to be desired; they're lightly bluesy and funky, but sound a little stiff and predictable to my ears. Combine that with a fairly narrow range of material (especially on the original album) and you get an album, that while not monotonous, has a certain sameness that keeps it from being a classic. Just listen to the first tracks back to back - despite being different tunes, they sound almost exactly the same. It's nice music, but compare it to Ben Webster with Oscar Peterson or Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue (also with Stanley) and you can definitely hear the difference.

I'd recommend some of Stanley's other albums over this one - Up at Minton's, That's Where It's At, Joyride, The Spoiler. If you really want a "late night" album without some of the more crossover-oriented soul jazz of Turrentine's later work, though, you might want this one instead.

No stray notes. Pure atmosphere. Stanley's sound reaches inside you.

This is in my top 10 favorite jazz albums. Turrentine's tone has got the perfect soulful sound for this recording. I believe that no other sax player could have done it better. This CD is perfect for just relaxin, smoking a cigar (or other types of smoking), just chilling out and drinking a beer after a long day at work, background music for a hip art/record store, or even making some sweet love. enjoy it for many many years to come. Also, the extra disc is great too, but not as mellow as the first one, its more upbeat and moving, but it's still awesome.

This is a terrific collection.Stanley Turrentine and Gene Harris are at the top of their games in these sessions.