and you turn to the one and you turn inside
Stanley Turrentine for one, is a man that sings through his horn.
And in my not-really-very-humble-opinion, the record cover for his album Salt Song, is simply fucking bad-ass. This is where the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” couldn’t be more incorrect.
In fact, judge this record by it’s cover - because the haunting beauty of this picture is exactly what you shall hear from the music inside.
At least I think so.
Stanley Turrentine’s I Told Jesus:
And for an interesting comparison, Roberta Flack’s (also intense) vocal version:
categories: music
tags: I Told Jesus, Robert Flack, Salt Song, saxophone, soul, Stanley Turrentine
posted by asstral at 07:24 pm
I absolutely, deeply, agree with you asstral. Both songs are penetrating. I saw Stanley Turrentine and thought of “Pieces of Dreams” a personal favorite for personal reasons. I saw Roberta Flack and immediately thought of one of the best albums ever — First Take. I remembered her rendition of “Compared to What” which inspired the Les McCans version, whose Swiss Movement performance video is listed at Don Byron’s space along with Aretha Franklin’s affecting performance of Nessum Dorma which inspired Don Bryon’s cd “A Fine Line” Arias and Leider.
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The instruments inspire and play off one another.
My post with link is not posting to the Stanley link. Just testing because part 3 of 3 of the trilogy is truncated as well. Thanks in advance. If this posts I know the link is in moderation.
debunot - your comment was in spam, for some reason. I’ll look at the trilogy page
Wow! I am really loving this music.
debunot, First Take is up there as one of my favorite top 5 albums ever. Word. In fact, I made a note earlier today to possibly discuss that album on this blog. Her version of Compared to What is i think better than then mccans version - by a landslide.
asstral, it was a ground breaking album, the cover art of her sitting at the piano, no rules to follow, just leading. By a landslide.
I feel this way about early George Benson btw, but not nearly as strongly. Popularity exacts a toll sometimes.
She is an exquisite pioneer. I collect her songs where I can. Here’s one. She simmers.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/102381569b4664/
Donny and Roberta were a holy alliance. I’ll hold those for another time.
I absolutely agree that the voice of an instrument can sometimes be much more powerful than the human voice. For me, it’s more often true than otherwise, because it seems to get to a more fundamental place of feeling.
I’ve said it on just about every other board, I’ve been on so I might as well say it on this one, but there is a line from Much Ado about Nothing that hits at the oddity of this for me:
“Is it not strange that sheep’s guts should hale souls out of men’s bodies”
Whether it’s guts or reeds or metal or skin that sets the vibration going, it is odd that that has a power over us, isn’t it?
But traditionally, the human voice was the ideal, and instrumentalists strived to achieve the voice’s power of expression. That’s not necessarily the ideal anymore, and turned on it’s head with a lot of styles of vocal improv. But asstral, do you think the sax is one that particularly moves you because it might come closer to some vocal inflection than another instrument might, or is it something else about the saxophone that hits you in particular?
fwiw, the instrument that hits me hardest and deepest is theorbo, but unfortunately, not used in the music I most currently most favor. next best thing is bass
debunot - totally agree in regards to Roberta. The sound of her music is tender in a different way to her peers. And in fact I got into Donny Hathaway from my interest in her music.
thack, I would say I am a sucker for the sound of a tenor sax yes, however the sound of a passionate drum beat or a moving piano piece effects me the same way. For me, the passion behind the musican translates through the sound of the instrument - regardless of the instrument itself.
debunot and asstral - how fascinating to come across this conversation of yours. A few days ago I posted in the Albums thread regarding McCann’s large private archives of tapes, a few songs from which were featured on his Les Is More album (including my favorite version of Compared to What). One song from Les is More that doesn’t feature McCann at all is his private recording of Robert Flack, a few months before she cut First Take - her first record with Atlantic. It was McCann who actually set her up with Atlantic.
More on their connection, from her bio:
By the summer of 1968, the word was out, and that word was “Roberta.” While the nation’s capital was hosting Resurrection City, Roberta was doing a benefit for the Inner City Ghetto Children’s Library Fund. In the packed crowd was famed musician, Les McCann, who was stunned by what he heard: “Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I’ve ever known. I laughed, cried, and screamed for more…she alone had the voice!” Within days he had arranged an audition for Roberta with Atlantic Records.
With a repertoire of more than 600 songs, Roberta played 42 of them for Atlantic producer, Joel Dorn, in three hours. In November of 1968, she went into the studio and laid down some 39 song demos over nine hours. Three months later, she recorded “FIRST TAKE,” her debut album, in a mere ten hours at Atlantic Studios. Among the songs she cut was “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Roberta recalls those studio sessions, remembering it as a “very naive and beautiful approach…I was comfortable with the music because I had worked on all these songs for all the years I had worked at Mr. Henry’s.” “FIRST TAKE” was released in June 1969, followed by her first single, the Eugene McDaniels composition, “Compared To What.”
Curious Joe, fascinating indeed. Very insightful. Many bows for the information. What’s your feeling on Turrentine’s version?
I rather enjoyed the Turrentine version more…I could feel it without having to think about it…..
Oh how true it is that “Stanley Turrentine…is a man that sings through his horn”. This says it precisely. It’s hard to get better than Salt Song ( the fabulous album jacket not withstanding). My dad really loved Stanley — and since I was born in Pgh and so was Stanley we made a special thing of following his music I can remember falling asleep in bed listening to the ramblings of the tenor saxophone streaming from the HiFi — dreaming, lamenting, romance, railing–he did all. When you hit that point of almost asleep where dreams and reality merge — I truly have felt I heard clear words in his notes. Maybe I did. For as wonderful as the blend was when he’d play with others — I loved the sound of him alone the best.
Someone else who’s saxophone music talks with a distinct passion and language for me is Dexter Gordon. http://www.dextergordon.com/main.htm He was different from many of the greats in that he had a fair amount of formal music training — but as he was quick to point out — it’s the heart and the passion. It’s that kernel of brilliance that we’ve talked about here a lot lately that he too saluted as the pivotal ingredient. I really like his “Our Man in Paris” album. If you haven’t listened to his stuff and many of you have I’m sure –
do and see it he doesn’t talk through his Saxophone too. Here is a Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKvOxemHeFo&mode=related&search= from a documentary with a sampling of Dexter over years. There is also a wonderful ‘conversation’ between Saxophones toward the end.
Love this discussion –Part of me thinks that the saxophone and percussion form the fundamental language of the soul. But then I think of Wynton Marsalis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtzn7n-NuLA&mode=related&search=
He does some awesome talking wih his horn. I found a really neat clip of him with Dexter– I love the humor between them.
Maybe I’m wrong but I bet you LOVE this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzFCDQiWmIY
Meg, I imagine you saw the movie “‘Round Midnight”? If not you will love it. Who knew that Dexter Gordon could also act, though the part was not much a strech for him, I think.
Round Midnight –Yep — I think Dexter was always acting. I think he acted his way through life except when he’d pick up his Sax and then it was all 100 percent real.
“Maybe I’m wrong but I bet you LOVE this one”
Meg, what is wrong with me? That is maybe the best one minute video I’ve ever seen . This needs it’s own blog!
How very lovely… I have never had the pleasure of hearing Stanley Turrentine’s music, It is late here in the south where I am located…. my room is in shadows, lit only by the screen of my computer, the air is gently blowing on my face from the fan in the corner of the room, and a bowl of floating gardenia’s picked from the garden is filling the room with their perfume. This clip of music added to the contentment of my evening. Thank you for bringing it into the realm of my reality.
I do love a horn. Oh yes I do. But horns don’t make me lose track of the world. Guitar does.
I have a Ry Cooder piece I love a lot. Tear your fuckin’ heart out. Feelin’ Bad Blues, from the film Crossroads. That shit will tear you to pieces.