| Stanley Turrentine's tenor sax has always
been instantly recognizable. When you hear
it, there's no doubt it's Mister T. After
a series of more commercially focused recordings
in the late 1970s, Straight Ahead marked
a return of Mister T to his roots. Brad Mehldau is one of the more creative
pianists of the first decade of the 21st
century. Listen or better yet experience
the mood shifts through his playing and
then transition into the mellow tones of
Boz Scaggs, an FM-radio staple of the 1970s.
I think it is physiologically impossible
to listen to his voice and remain stressed.
Another creative pairing, Mulligan and Monk,
two innovators with largely separate careers
but with an obvious affection for each other's
creativity. Jimmy Smith sails up and Kurt Elling gracefully
descends the mood followed by Marcus Roberts
musically exhorting us to sit up in our
chair and pay attention before Stan Kenton
lushly transports us to somewhere of which
I am not exactly sure. Just before we dose off in our easy chair,
Stanley Turrentine spins us a bittersweet
story but one with an infectious groove.
Our time in the chair may come to end once
again, but as the good friend that it is,
it will be there the next time. And our
musical friends will be there too.
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