The thought
of Steve Turre inevitably conjures the image of a dauntless virtuoso. Over the
course of a remarkable career spanning more than five decades, Turre has proved
time and time again that he’s one of the foremost masters of the trombone, able
to steer his challenging instrument through breakneck turns and imaginative
leaps at dizzying speed.
On The Very
Thought Of You, Turre shows off a less celebrated side of his brilliant
artistry: his moving, heartfelt way with a ballad. Luxuriating in timeless melodies
and swathed in lush strings, Turre makes his horn sing with delicate lyricism
and subtle beauty. Of course, the irrepressible trombonist can’t help but
unleash his fiercely swinging side, peppering his ballad set with a few
pulse-quickeners here and there.
Due out
August 24, 2018 via Smoke Sessions Records, The Very Thought Of You features a
stellar quartet ideal for a session that calls for a light touch combined with
the soul-stirring depth of feeling that Turre brings to everything that he plays.
Turre is joined by pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer
Willie Jones III, supplemented on four of the pieces by a string octet
conducted by veteran arranger Marty Sheller. An outstanding pair of guests,
legendary tenor saxophonist George Coleman and guitar great Russell Malone,
both lend their breathtaking mastery to the music as well.
“There’s a
challenge to playing ballads on any instrument,” Turre admits. “It’s not about
showing off; it’s about trying to play beautiful, to touch somebody with your
sound and with your phrasing. The reason I wanted to do it is because I’ve
never done it before. I’ve done so many records where I play fast and
complicated. It was time to play ballads.”
Especially
on the four immortal classics to which Sheller added strings – “Never Let Me
Go,” “Shadow of Your Smile,” “Danny Boy,” and the title track – Turre likened
his role to that of a singer, ceding the solo spotlight to his bandmates while
focusing his own playing on the interpretation of the songs’ incredible
melodies.
“I don’t
know anybody on the trombone that can play faster than Curtis Fuller could,”
Turre explains. “But when I first came to New York in 1973, I met Curtis and he
told me that the hardest thing to do is to play simple and have it mean
something. So my role wasn't as the improviser; I was the singer, and my focus
was to make the melody say something without over-embellishing it.”
It was some
of the music’s most renowned vocalists that inspired Turre’s choice of
standards on The Very Thought Of You. Nancy Wilson’s versions of the title tune
and “Never Let Me Go” convinced the trombonist that he wanted to take on those
melodies, while a live rendition of “The Shadow of Your Smile” so captivated
him that he added it to the setlist. “Carmen McRae sang nothing but the melody
and it was so astounding,” Turre recalls.
The Very
Thought of You is not the first time that Turre has melded his voice with
strings. On Lotus Flower (1999), he led a sextet where the frontline swapped
sax and trumpet for Akua Dixon’s cello and Regina Carter’s violin. And on his
1997 self-titled album he teamed with Sheller – a longtime colleague on the
Latin jazz scene – for a string arrangement of the Machito classic “Ayer Lo Vi
Llorar” featuring the iconic Afro-Cuban singer Graciela. But the new album
marks the first time that Turre has utilized strings in the traditional vein of
classics like Clifford Brown with Strings or Nat King Cole’s elegant sound.
“With
ballads, it’s not about playing loud and boisterous, it’s about playing with
subtlety,” Turre says. “The strings help to bring that out. Plus, Marty
Sheller’s writing was just sublime, so tasteful and lush and not overdone but
complimentary to a T.”
After
opening the album with a swooning “The Very Thought of You,” the band is joined
by Malone for the first time on an up-tempo but laid-back romp through
“September in the Rain.” Then Turre and Malone pair off for the trombonist’s
intimate duet piece “No Regrets.” The song was originally written back in the ‘70s
while Turre was playing bass in drummer Chico Hamilton’s band, where once a
night the leader would take a break and leave Turre to play duo with guitarist
Rodney Jones. On “Freedom Park, SA” Turre and Jones go head to head with a free
improv sparked by a melody conceived by Turre while playing a festival in South
Africa last year.
Turre
contributes his own ballad to the proceedings with the wistful “Time Will
Tell,” then nods to his late mentor J.J. Johnson (as well as his wife) on the
trombone giant’s touching “Carolyn in the Morning.” Coleman’s heart-wrenching
solo on “Never Let Me Go” is a highlight of the album, but Turre welcomes him
back to let loose on a rip-roaring take on Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite.”
The album
concludes on a poignant note with the sentimental Irish ballad “Danny Boy,” a
particularly meaningful choice for Turre. He fell in love with the song through
Ben Webster’s version, but never played it until his brother-in-law, frail but
still alert at 100 -years-old, made the request. On the opposite end of the age
spectrum, Turre’s gentle but jaunty “Sachiko” is named for a baby whose smile
touched his heart during a chance encounter in San Francisco.
There are
countless musical moments that might come to mind at the thought of Steve
Turre: his formative stint with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, his innovative
collaborations with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, his tenures on the road with Ray
Charles or Woody Shaw, his decades as a member of the Saturday Night Live band,
his ground-breaking use of conch shells as musical instruments, countless
collaborations with the greatest artists in jazz and popular music. With The
Very Thought of You, Turre offers a beautifully vulnerable and lyrical side to
that catalogue of memories.
"The
Very Thought of You" was produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith
and recorded
live in New York at Sear Sound's Studio C on a Sear-Avalon custom console
at
96KHz/24bit and mixed to ½" analog tape using a Studer mastering deck.
Available in
audiophile HD format.
Steve Turre
· The Very Thought of You
Smoke
Sessions Records · Release Date: August 24, 2018
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