Stanley Turrentine

Blue Hour came out of an inspired idea by producer Alfred Lion. He paired tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine with The Three Sounds, the trio of pianist Gene Harris, bassist Andrew Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy. Recorded in December 1960 and released in March 1961, it became one of the most deeply soulful hard bop records in the Blue Note catalogue. It is a late-night album built around ballads.

Both parties were early in their long associations with the label. Turrentine had recorded his debut as a leader, Look Out, only a few months before, while The Three Sounds had made their first album, Introducing The 3 Sounds, in 1958. The session took place on December 16, 1960, at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, with Rudy Van Gelder engineering.

Four of the five pieces are standards, taken at slow, smouldering tempos. They are I Want A Little Girl, Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You, Since I Fell For You and Willow Weep For Me. The last two run to almost nine and ten minutes, leaving plenty of room for Turrentine's big, bluesy tone and for Harris's piano solos. At the centre of the record sits Harris's own Blue Riff, the only uptempo number on an otherwise unhurried album.

AllMusic's Michael Erlewine rated the original album four and a half stars. More material surfaced decades later. A set recorded on June 29, 1960, and further pieces from the December date appeared only in 2000 on the double CD Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions. AllMusic described that expanded edition as a relaxed and bluesy release.

This is the Japanese Ultimate High Quality CD (UHQCD) from Universal Music Japan, issued in 2024 as UCCQ-9712, with the original five-track programme. It comes in a jewel case with obi and the original sleeve notes reproduced on the back inlay.