March 7, 2019
Stanley Turrentine is the featured artist in this big band session with an all-star orchestra arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. While Nelson’s charts are funky and easygoing (without providing any solo space for the likes of Phil Woods, Clark Terry, and Jay Jay Johnson), they serve the purpose to inspire the tenor saxophonist. Turrentine is quite soulful on Percy Mayfield’s “River’s Invitation,” and his huge tone carries the day in a waltzing chart of the 1960s hit “A Taste of Honey.” The artist also contributed some originals to the date, including the easygoing “Little Sheri,” which features the unison flutes of Danny Bank and Jerry Dodgion, and “Mattie T,” a gospel-like song that almost seems like a march. ~ Ken Dryden
