Stanley Turrentine - Look Out

Great Music!

I love jazz in general and this CD really has excellent rhythm, sound and quality.

July 7, 2008

Look Out For Mister T.

My introduction to the music of Stanley Turrentine came way back in his CTI days with the issue of Salt Song. I liked that and other CTI releases, but being just a kid I really had no idea at that time that he had already been playing professionally for more than twenty years. I sort of lost interest in his music when Turrentine, like so many other jazz musicians in the mid-1970s, began to infuse his music with disco in a misguided attempt to broaden his appeal. I have begun listening to him again only recently as Turrentine's older material is being remastered and rereleased. Look Out, originally released in 1960, is just one of the many Turrentine gems I have discovered.
There is a lot to like about Look Out! The first and most important thing is the music, which is mostly uptempo and about as finger-snapping good as you could hope for. The virtuosity of Turrentine's quartet is quite spectacular and is made even more evident by Rudy Van Gelder's remastering. Secondly, there is the price which I think is very low considering all you get. Though I like the entire CD, I get the most pleasure from listening to the title cut, both versions of Little Sherri, Tin Tin Deo, and Yesterdays.
Those who buy this get nearly an hour of great jazz and an informative booklet featuring the liner notes from the original album plus additional commentary that gives the reader the benefit of hindsight.
Whether or not Look Out is for you depends on the type of jazz you like. If you are looking for what is commonly called 'smooth jazz', then Look Out! is probably not for you. But if you like the kind of cool, swinging style that was in with the musical cognoscenti of the late 50s and early 60s, then by all means get this.
Since my interest in Stanley Turrentine has been rekindled, my experience has been that I can probably go back and safely get anything I don't yet have that Turrentine recorded with CTI and Blue Note. But unless you like your jazz discofied, you'll find post-CTI Turrentine recordings to be a minefield. April 13, 2008

AGREED

Im in agreement with the other reviewer. Stanley's first as a leader for Blue Note certainly is no warm up. He is virtually in peak form right from the start. It makes you wonder why they orchestrated a lot of his later work. Totally unnecessary in my opinion. He recorded a lot with organist Shirley Scott both under his name and her's during the 60's. But I would avoid the one with Kenny Burrell added- HUSTLIN'- Kenny's presence is a bit annoying and he ruins what should have been a classic version of Love Letters with his obligatos. Stan IS the man. UP AT MINTON'S with a more reserved Grant Green and Horace Parlan on piano is OK. Most of the time it's just Stanley and Shirley with a drummer and that's all many people need. THE COMMON TOUCH, I'm told adds George Benson. I haven't heard it and don't care to. April 3, 2008

No Longer on the "Look Out"

This CD has been out of print on CD domestically for nearly twenty years, but with this RVG reissue, collectors no longer have to keep a lookout for "Look Out!" Recorded in June 1960, this session features the phenomenal rhythm trio of Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass and Al Harewood on drums. This trio had previously worked together on the Dexter Gordon classic Doin' Allright (see my review) and Lou Donaldson's "Midnight Sun" (one I've been waiting for years to get reissued -- come on RVG), and they would make magic again on Turrentine's "Comin' Your Way" and "Up At Minton's" (two more, Rudy!) and several fine Parlan titles. The material here is mostly original with three by Turrentine (the hard-bop gems "Look Out," "Little Sheri" and "Minor Chant"), one by Parlan ("Return Engagement"), and Clifford Brown's "Tiny Capers." The remaining track, "Journey Into Melody," is a ballad by a British composer named Robert Farnon. All brought together it makes for another classic straight-ahead swinging affair from the folks at Blue Note. It is unfortunate that too many of Turrentine's finest albums have had to die a painful death by the deletion axe. Most of his classic Blue Note albums from the early 60s are still out of print, but maybe the reissue of "Look Out" will start a Mr. T revival! March 26, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...