Blue Hour
Encyclopedia
Blue Hour is an album by jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine
and The Three Sounds
recorded for the Blue Note
label and performed by Turrentine with Gene Harris
, Andrew Simpkins and Bill Dowdy
. The album was reissued in 2000 with an additional disc of unreleased recordings, as Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions (Blue Note 24586).
Bonus tracks on Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions CD 2:
Recorded on December 16, 1960 (original LP & CD 2 tracks 1-3) and June 29, 1960 (CD 2 tracks 4-8).
Stanley Turrentine
Stanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
and The Three Sounds
The Three Sounds
The Three Sounds were an American jazz trio that formed in 1956 and disbanded in 1973. The trio played and recorded with Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day, Bucky Pizzarelli, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt among others.The band formed in Benton Harbor,...
recorded for the Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
label and performed by Turrentine with Gene Harris
Gene Harris
Gene Harris was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz....
, Andrew Simpkins and Bill Dowdy
Bill Dowdy
Bill Dowdy is a musician and teacher, born in Arkansas. He was the drummer with the jazz trio, The Three Sounds. The Three Sounds recorded over ten jazz albums from the 1950s through the early 70s and played with Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day and Sonny...
. The album was reissued in 2000 with an additional disc of unreleased recordings, as Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions (Blue Note 24586).
Reception
The Allmusic review by Michael Erlewine awarded the album 4½ stars and states "This is a beautiful album of relaxed, bluesy sound".Track listing
Original LP- "I Want a Little Girl" (Murray Mencher, Billy Moll) - 7:03
- "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to YouGee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You"Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" is a 1929 song written by Andy Razaf and Don Redman. It was later performed by The King Cole Trio. The single peaked at number twenty on the national charts and was the group's final number one on the Harlem Hit Parade...
" (Andy Razaf, Don RedmanDon RedmanDonald Matthew Redman was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader and composer.Redman was announced as a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame on May 6, 2009....
) - 5:20 - "Blue Riff" (Gene Harris) - 6:26
- "Since I Fell for YouSince I Fell for You"Since I Fell for You" is a jazz and pop standard. The blues ballad was composed by Buddy Johnson in 1945 and was first popularized by his sister, Ella Johnson, with Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra. The biggest hit version was recorded by Lenny Welch in 1963, reaching number four on the U.S...
" (Buddy JohnsonBuddy JohnsonNot to be confused with Budd Johnson.Buddy Johnson was an American jazz and New York blues pianist and bandleader, active from the 1930s through the 1960s...
) - 8:46 - "Willow Weep for MeWillow Weep for Me"Willow Weep for Me" is a popular song composed in 1932 by Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. It is mostly known as a jazz standard, but it was a Top 40 hit for the British duo Chad & Jeremy in 1964.-Notable recordings:...
" (Ann RonellAnn RonellAnn Rosenblatt, known as Ann Ronell was an American composer and lyricist best known for the jazz standard "Willow Weep for Me" .- Biography :...
) - 9:55
Bonus tracks on Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions CD 2:
- "Blues in the Closet" (PettifordOscar PettifordOscar Pettiford was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop.-Biography:...
) - 5:00 - "Just in TimeJust in Time (song)"Just in Time" is a popular song with the melody written by Jule Styne and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The song was published in 1956....
" (ComdenBetty ComdenBetty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
, GreenAdolph GreenAdolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
, StyneJule StyneJule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
) - 5:40 - "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You" [Alternate Take] - 5:33
- "Where or WhenWhere or When"Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes In Arms. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. It also appeared in the movie of the same title two years later...
" (LorenzLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
) - 7:00 - "Blue Hour" (Gene Harris) - 5:14
- "There Is No Greater LoveThere Is No Greater Love"There Is No Greater Love" is a 1936 jazz standard composed by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Marty Symes. It was the last hit song for Jones's orchestra before the bandleader turned the orchestra over to Woody Herman, beginning the latter's 50 year career as a bandleader.The song is often played as a...
" (JonesIsham JonesIsham Jones was a United States bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter.-Career:Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, to a musical and mining family, and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, where he started his first band...
, SymesMarty SymesMarty Symes was an American lyricist.Symes was born in Brooklyn New York in 1904. His first significant collaborator was composer Jerry Livingston. In 1932 they wrote "Darkness on the Delta", which became a hit for Mildred Bailey. The next year the Casa Loma Orchestra recorded their "Under the...
) - 8:24 - "Alone TogetherAlone Together (song)"Alone Together" is a song composed by Arthur Schwartz with lyrics by Howard Dietz. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Flying Colors in 1932 by Jean Sargent....
" (DietzHoward DietzHoward Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist.-Biography:Dietz was born in New York City and studied journalism at Columbia University...
, SchwartzArthur SchwartzArthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer.Schwartz supported his legal studies at New York University and postgraduate studies at Columbia University by playing piano before concentrating his talents on vaudeville, Broadway theatre and Hollywood.Among his Broadway musicals are The...
) - 4:40 - "Strike up the BandStrike Up the Band (song)"Strike Up the Band" is a 1927 song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was written for the 1927 musical Strike Up the Band, where it formed part of a satire on war and militaristic music...
" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
) - 5:24
Recorded on December 16, 1960 (original LP & CD 2 tracks 1-3) and June 29, 1960 (CD 2 tracks 4-8).
Personnel
- Stanley TurrentineStanley TurrentineStanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
- tenor saxophone - Gene HarrisGene HarrisGene Harris was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz....
- piano - Andrew Simpkins - bass
- Bill DowdyBill DowdyBill Dowdy is a musician and teacher, born in Arkansas. He was the drummer with the jazz trio, The Three Sounds. The Three Sounds recorded over ten jazz albums from the 1950s through the early 70s and played with Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Nat Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day and Sonny...
- drums
Production
- Alfred LionAlfred LionAlfred Lion was a Jewish German-born American record executive who co-founded Blue Note Records in 1939 Blue Note recorded many of the biggest names in jazz throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.-Biography:...
- producer - Reid MilesReid Milesand Reid Miles was an American graphic designer and photographer.Reid Miles was born in Chicago on 4 July 1927 but, following the Stock Market Crash and the separation of his parents, moved with his mother to Long Beach, California in 1929.After high school Miles joined the Navy and, following...
- design - Rudy Van GelderRudy Van GelderRudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
- audio engineer - Francis WolffFrancis WolffFrancis Wolff was a record company executive, photographer and record producer....
- photography