Track Selection 1 Speakin’ My Piece -
Welcome aboard this flight to 1960. It is my pleasure to fly you today in this bluesy bopper. Our in-flight very dry Martini service will begin shortly. If you look down, on the left hand side, you will see we are just passing over 1980. Now sit back and relax, and enjoy your flight. I know you have had a choice of blogs and thank you for choosing the LondonJazzCollector. Now together, wave your arms up and down… faster, faster, we are losing height…
Selection 2: Wadin’
Horace Parlan’s signature composition Wadin’ is flowing with nice and greasy soul.
Artists
Tommy Turrentine (tp) Stanley Turrentine (ts) Horace Parlan (p) George Tucker (b) Al Harewood (d) recorded Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, July 14, 1960
Music
In 1960, at the age of 29, Parlan was seen as the new Horace Silver, a dual stylist, a member of Mingus’s crew, and as a soulful bluesy member of Lou Donaldson team. He could pitch it either way, and on this record its the soul team in the saddle. 1960 was still early enough, soul jazz had not yet mutated into the funky chicken
Being a little short on writing time, I’ll put my feet up on the opposite train-seat of life, and let someone else do a little wordsmithing.
“Horace Parlan had a gift for relaxed, swinging hard bop which placed his piano in a central, yet unassuming role. Speakin’ My Piece is one of the first albums to find Parlan getting all the ingredients right, from his own subtle playing to soliciting fine contributions of his backing band. Stanley Turrentine, in fact, turns out to be an excellent complement to Parlan, playing in a similarly tasteful style. Five of the six numbers are band originals, and each number is quite similar — bluesy, gently swinging hard bop. No one pushes too hard on Speakin’ My Piece, preferring to create an intimate atmosphere with milder numbers and performances. Such an approach gives each muscian — Parlan, Turrentine, bassist George Tucker, drummer Al Harewood — a chance to shine with lyrical, melodic solos and/or sympathetic support, resulting in a charmingly low-key session”.
Another blogger chipped in with this take:
Piece is a mellow blues-tinged bop quartet session featuring the soulful, agile, massive-toned tenor sound of fellow Pittsburgh expatriate Turrentine. There’s nothing too rambunctious here, just some dandy earthy jazz to relax and unwind to.
Vinyl: BLP 4043 Blue Note
Apparently not a first pressing (47W63rd DG), but rather a second pressing around 1962. Mono, NY labels no DG, ear, stamped RVG, laminated cover and undated Blue Note inner sleeve “Finest since 1939″. Phew!
RVG machine stamp and Plastylite ear tell you you are going to be in for that big Blue Note sound.
Collectors Corner
Source: S/h vinyl store, Soho, who for valuable records have had to resort to putting photocopy sleeves in the racks due to the problem of cover-thieves.
The record had a couple of months in the rack due to what I thought an optimistic price, and 35% taken off tipped the balance. These guys depend on turnover, unlike others who are content to leave it unsold for many years until a chance buyer turns up. That won’t pay Central London rents, so if it doesn’t move, they reprice it after three months.
We discussed why it hadn’t sold, and a I ventured the opinion that Turrentine wasn’t going to excite the younger DJ-tendancy jazzers, not enough “badness” , and he agreed that it might be that ”Stanley Turpentine”. However this is only 1960, early days. Never being short of an opinion, I also ventured the name “Horace” didn’t sound very cool to urban types called Nick, Rick, Nat and Matt.
Just checked Fred Cohen’s Blue Note bible real quick and the BLP 4043 should have 47 West 63rd address with “inc” and deep groove on both sides. Apart from that your copy still has it all: RVG stamped in the trail off, the “P” or “ear”, 47 West 63rd Str. New York 23 on the back cover and the front is laminated.
Still I wish I had walked into your copy myself, ’cause I once bought Horace Parlan’s other Blue Note beauty “In The Spur of The Moment” for 150 Euros (way, way, way too much, but I was greedy) only to find out later that it missed the “ear” in the deadwax and that I had spent top dollar on a Liberty pressing…
Bwhaaaaaaa!! (Not)
Sounds great – all the sassy sound you expect from an original blue Note and at £50 I am not complaining.
Bwhaaaaaaaaa!