Duke Pearson Wahoo!

An acclaimed pianist, composer and producer, and an A&R man to boot, Duke Pearson played a crucial role in the development of the hard bop genre at the turn of the 1960s. As a musician, he led many of his own groups and played on the records of a host of jazz greats, most notably by esteemed jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd, but also those by Grant Green, Thad Jones and Pepper Adams. And although his recording career was cut tragically short - his time as bandleader lasted little over a decade - a ferocious work ethic led to the great man's legacy boasting a magnificent catalogue of albums, particularly during the early part of his career.

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.