Horace Parlan – Speakin’ My Piece (Classic Vinyl Series) Blue Note Records Vinyl LP

Pianist Horace Parlan is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Minguson 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 Parlanoriginals 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.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Grayfrom the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.