Up Horace Parlan

Real Gone Jazz reissued seven classic albums from the early '60s by hard bop pianist Horace Parlan, Movin' and Groovin', Us Three, Speakin' My Piece, Headin' South, On the Spur of the Moment, Up and Down, and Doin' Alright (with Dexter Gordon). Even though this set does not contain any bonus tracks, this isn't a bad way to pick up these sessions if you don't already own them.

Horace Parlan - Up & Down (1961) {Blue Note Japan Remaster TOCJ-6617}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 312 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 105 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 2005 Blue Note / Toshiba-EMI Japan | TOCJ-6617 | 24bit remastering
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Blues / Soul Jazz / Piano

In Memoriam. Horace Parlan RIP. We’ve lost another great jazzman. Horace Parlan died on Thursday evening peacefully in his sleep in Denmark where he lived since 1973. By adding guitarist Grant Green and tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin to his standard rhythm section of bassist George Tucker and drummer Al Harewood, pianist Horace Parlan opens up his sound and brings it closer to soul-jazz on Up and Down. Green's clean, graceful style meshes well with Parlan's relaxed technique, while Ervin's robust tone and virile attack provides a good contrast to the laid-back groove the rhythm section lays down.

Up & Down is one of three Horace Parlan albums that simultaneously featured saxophonist Booker Ervin and guitarist Grant Green during the pianist's golden-era run at Blue Note. Parlan's standard rhythm section bassist George Tucker and drummer Al Harewood are here, but the presence of both Green and Ervin lends some serious meat-and-potatoes weight to this hard bop and primordial soul-jazz session. Ervin's earthy tone highlighted numerous sets by Parlan, but the presence of Green, who was quickly becoming a rising star at this point, put the earth tones back into the virtuosic mix of talents.

Horace Parlan - Up & Down (1961) {2009 BN Rudy Van Gelder Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 369 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 124 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 20 Mb
© 2009 Blue Note / Capitol | 50999 2 65137 2 0 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Piano

By adding guitarist Grant Green and tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin to his standard rhythm section of bassist George Tucker and drummer Al Harewood, pianist Horace Parlan opens up his sound and brings it closer to soul-jazz on 1961's UP & DOWN. Green's clean, graceful style meshes well with Parlan's relaxed technique, while Ervin's robust tone and virile attack provides a good contrast to the laid-back groove the rhythm section lays down. Stylistically, the music is balanced between hard bop and soul-jazz, tied together by the bluesy tint in the three soloists' playing.

Among the most revered and in-demand pianists of the post-bop era, Horace Parlan remains one of the most well represented jazz musicians of the 1950s and 1960s, having produced both an extraordinary array of albums as leader, and concurrently contributed to a quite staggering selection of highly regarded albums by other premier jazz musicians. This 4CD boxset collates all of Horace Parlan's solo-albums from the 1960s, on which he performed as leader, alongside his finest contribution to a fellow musician's record. A pioneer who adapted his disability into a distinctive style, Parlan remains one of the finest jazz-men of the age, and this superb collection of his best work serves as both a dynamic reminder of his prowess, and as a fully-formed starting point for any inquisitive beginner.

"I recommend these highly. If you want the best digital versions of these great Blue Note albums, grab these. In my opinion they are the best that have ever been done and probably the best that ever will be. They can't stay in print forever so don't delay!" - Steve Hoffman, Mastering Engineer

Horace Parlan - Speakin' My Piece (1960) {2009 Audio Wave XRCD24 Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 365 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 124 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 231 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster | XRCD24
© 2009 Audio Wave / Blue Note | AWMXR-0002
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

Horace Parlan had a gift for relaxed, swinging hard bop which placed his piano in a central, yet unassuming role. Speakin' My Piece is one of the first albums to find Parlan getting all the ingridients right, from his own subtle playing to soliciting fine contributions of his backing band. Stanley Turrentine, in fact, turns out to be an excellent complement to Parlan, playing in a similarly tasteful style. Five of the six numbers are band originals, and each number is quite similar – bluesy, gently swinging hard bop.