The circumstances surrounding the recording of this album are as important as the music you will hear and enjoy. Inspired by the songbook of
Count Basie, tenor saxophonist
Stanley Turrentine and his wife of four years, organist
Shirley Scott, planned on recording with a septet, and went into the studio with that band on October 12, 1963, but those sessions were scrapped. On October 14, two tracks were finished and included here, but October 21 saw the band pared down to a quintet, and the results were acceptable. Trumpeter
Blue Mitchell's contributions were quite desirable, he was the second lead voice in the ensemble, and success was attained.
Turrentine and
Mitchell played together in the 1954 edition of the
Earl Bostic ensemble, and happily renew their musical friendship. The
Basie evergreen "One O'Clock Jump" leads off the date swinging with
Turrentine and
Mitchell trading melody lines before an outstanding solo from the trumpeter. A first take from the larger ensemble is described by
Bob Blumenthal in the liner notes as ragged, but perhaps further attempts would have smoothed out the scruffy mood. The tenor man sounds as if he is feeding the melody line to trombonist Tom McIntosh and baritone saxophonist
Charles Davis ad lib instead of reading charts, although it doesn't sound all that uninspired.
Neal Hefti's "Cherry Point" with the quintet is an easy swinging, tenor/organ trade off, in a much slower tempo with the septet, two minutes longer, a bit sluggish, perhaps too rich, but soulfully coming together at the coda. Dedicated to Nashville DJ
Hoss Allen, the classic road time shuffle "Blues in Hoss' Flat" chips off many familiar phrases in the main frame, while
Hefti's simmering "Midnight Blue" (not
Kenny Burrell's version that
Turrentine also played on) gives
Scott room to subtract one color and shade the unison melody with the tenor and trumpeter. The lone ballad "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" emphasizes
Turrentine's soul quotient with
Mitchell offering a marvelous countermelody. The spare approach of
Basie is hard to ignore, and though not essential in
Turrentine's discography, it is an interesting item that showcases his lighter side positively.