Características
“Dr.” Lonnie Smith, undoubtedly one of the most brilliant and creative organists of all time, first came into contact with Blue Note thanks to alto saxophonist Lee Donaldson. Donaldson had played on some of the most important soul jazz albums recorded in the late 1960s, including “Alligator Bogaloo”, “Mr. Shing-A-Ling” and “Midnight Creeper”, all three of which became timeless classics of the genre. Smith didn't take long to sign the contract with Blue Note and immediately began recording, starting with “Think”, the album that marked his debut for the American label in 1968. In January of the following year, Smith returned to Rudy Van Gelder's recording studio to record his second album for Blue Note, “Turning Point”, with a dynamic six-piece band that included a high-caliber front line featuring trumpeter Lee Morgan, trombonist Julian Priester, and tenor saxophonist Bennie Maupin. The rhythm section was reinforced by guitarist Melvin Sparks and the rousing drummer Leo Morris, who went down in jazz history under the name Idris Muhammad.
The five tracks on this album, produced by Francis Wolff, begin with a sophisticated reinterpretation of Don Covay's “See Saw”, a piece that had become a hit for Aretha Franklin the previous year. Other classics on “Turning Point” include the laid-back “People Sure Act Funny” by Titus Turner and Bobby Robinson and an imaginative, soulful reinterpretation of “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles. The program is rounded out by two original pieces by Smith, including the smoky “Slow High” and the epic title track.
As part of the extremely popular “Blue Note 85th Anniversary Reissue Series” Universal Music Japan presents the sonically impressive remastering of this jazz classic by the legendary Kevin Gray, who is also responsible for Blue Note US's analog reissues such as “Tone Poet” and “Classic Vinyl” – as a limited Japan only UHQCD with OBI stripe. The original recording session for “Turning Point” took place on January 3, 1969 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
UHQCD
1. Seesaw
2. Slow High
3. People Sure Act Funny
4. Eleanor Rigby
5. Turning Point