Stanley Turrentine – Mr. Natural

180-gram LP

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tape

Plated and pressed at RTI

Deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket

Blue Note Records has announced the 2023 line-up for the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series. The acclaimed series is produced by the "Tone Poet" Joe Harley and features all-analog, 180-gram audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered directly from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio.

Tone Poet vinyl is manufactured at RTI in Camarillo, California, and packaged in deluxe gatefold tip-on jackets. The titles were once again handpicked by Harley and include acknowledged treasures of the Blue Note catalog as well as underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz.

Though it wouldn't first be released until 1980 as part of the LT Series, Stanley Turrentine's Mr. Natural is a standout recording in the soulful tenor saxophonist's immense 1960s Blue Note catalog. Turrentine had already led 12 dates for the label from his hard bop debut Look Out! in 1960 to the soul jazz workout Hustlin' recorded in January 1964. That Fall the saxophonist was back in Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio at the helm of a cutting-edge modern jazz group with Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums with Ray Barretto joining on congas for several songs.

The band stretches out across Side 1 on the opener "Wahoo" (aka "Stanley's Blues"), penned by Duke Pearson, as well as Turrentine's loving piece "Shirley" dedicated to his then-wife Shirley Scott. Side 2 leads off with Morgan's jaunty tune "Tacos" before Turrentine delivers a brightly swinging quartet version of the standard "My Girl Is Just Enough Woman For Me." The album closes with a memorable take on The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love."