Stanley Turrentine

Although he is best known for his bluesy soul-jazz outings, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine's first Blue Note session as a leader was a much more traditional bop affair, and the resulting album, Look Out, featuring a rhythm section of Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Al Harewood on drums, shows as much artful restraint as it does groove. Not that this is a bad thing, since it allows Turrentine's big, clear tone to shine through in all its muscular sweetness, giving Look Out a wonderful and flowing coherence. Among the highlights here are the pretty ballad "Journey Into Melody" and the gently funky "Little Sheri." This reissue adds three bonus tracks, a second and shorter version of "Little Sheri" that was issued as a 45 rpm single, and two more standard pieces, "Tin Tin Deo" and "Yesterdays," that are on a par with the original LP tracks but were omitted due to time considerations. Turrentine was fresh from his brilliant playing on Jimmy Smith's Midnight Special and Back at the Chicken Shack sessions when Look Out was recorded in 1960, and the carry over is obvious. The bonus tracks on Blue Note's 2008 reissue actually make this set seem a little less startling, but since the original sequence is a bit on the short side, some listeners may prefer this expanded package. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide