1961 · Album
Up at "Minton's", Vol. 2
Recorded February 23, 1961 · Blue Note · Personnel: Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone), Grant Green (guitar), Horace Parlan (piano), George Tucker (bass), Al Harewood (drums)
Turrentine's Soul Captured Live at Minton's
Standards and blues that reveal the soulful Mr. T. near the start of his productive life.
Up at Minton's, Vol. 2 arrived in 1961 as a live capture of Stanley Turrentine performing at the legendary Harlem club, recorded just months into what would become a long and prolific career. The AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow noted that the album offered listeners a definitive look at Turrentine's approach to standards and blues, and The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gave it solid marks, recognizing the session's merit even if it didn't instantly crown it a classic. This was working jazz at its most direct—a saxophonist in his element, playing repertoire that mattered to him, with a tight rhythm section that understood the assignment.
What makes this record stick is how unadorned it is. Turrentine plays tenor with warmth and a bluesy tone that would become his trademark, and the quintet featuring Grant Green on guitar, Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Al Harewood on drums moves through the material with purpose and feel. There is no posturing here, no attempt to prove anything beyond solid musicianship and honest playing. The live setting crackles with the kind of energy that studio sessions sometimes miss, and you can hear the band listening to each other.
This is early Turrentine before he became a soul-jazz fixture and crossover name. It captures him as a straight-ahead player in a working ensemble, doing what the moment required. For anyone tracing his development or simply wanting to hear good tenor saxophone over confident rhythm section playing, this album delivers. It is not the record to start with if you are new to Turrentine, but it is an honest snapshot of a musician finding his voice in real time.
Who's playing
George Tuckerbass
Horace Parlanpiano
Grant Greenguitar
Stanley Turrentinetenor saxophone
Al Harewoodmembranophone
Where next?
More by Stanley Turrentine
All 64 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
