Blue Note, 1960
Pianist Horace Parlan is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mingus on the bassist’s seminal 1959 albums Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots. That same year Parlan made his first Blue Note appearance with Lou Donaldson and in 1960 he began leading his own sessions for the label with the trio albums Movin’ & Groovin’ and Us Three. For his third Blue Note date Speakin’ My Piece, also recorded in 1960, Parlan expanded his trio with bassist George Tucker and drummer Al Harewood into a quintet with the addition of a frontline horn section featuring Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone and his brother Tommy Turrentine on trumpet. The result is a quintessential Blue Note hard bop album, adorned with a playful Reid Miles album cover design, and featuring Parlan originals like the bluesy “Wadin’” and tuneful “Up In Cynthia’s Room” along with pieces by each of the Turrentine brothers and a show-
stopping performance on the ballad “Oh So Blue.”
