There’s almost no information about this particular recording and its a crying shame! In fact, “The Book Cooks” is Booker Ervin’s debut album and most debut recordings are celebrated with much fanfare. Typical treatment and very upsetting for one of the best jazz tenor saxophonist ever. Booker Ervin had a very distinctive sound and no other great tenor in his time sounded like him. The closest to sounding like him would be Jackie McLean and he played the alto. Teaming “The Book” up with Zoot Simms surely worked, as they played off each other and spontaneously without a hitch. Tommy Turrentine, older brother of tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine,and another unappreciated jazz trumpeter (biography below) is outstanding in this recording also. Completing the sextet, you have Tommy Flanagan on piano, Dannie Richmond on drums and George Tucker on bass. A classic hard bop album that includes some of the best played ballads.
Biography of Tommy Turrentine (Curt’s Jazz Cafe):
As a trumpet soloist Turrentine had all the qualities necessary for greatness. He had a full, warm tone throughout the range of the instrument and possessed the ability to create solos using long unbroken lines. His flair for melodic improvisation using long climaxes often contrasted sharply with the more disjointed creations of younger men who seemed anxious to brush aside convention. – Alun Morgan
He was the older brother of one of the most famous jazz musicians of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. His kid brother recorded dozens of albums, including a few that are fondly remembered as classics. He was every bit the musician that baby brother was. Yet Stanley Turrentine is a bona fide jazz legend, while Tommy Turrentine, who recorded only one album as a leader in his entire career, is unknown to all but ardent jazz fans and the many musicians who still marvel at his gifts, both as a trumpet player and as a composer…….Read More
