Turk Mauro - Love Songs [CD]

Before Tenor Saxophonist Turk Mauro fully relocated to Paris, France in 1991, he was working on a special project: an album of ballads that were not always played as ballads. In 1988 he began recording this project for Bloomdido Records, a French independent label, run by Jacques Charmeteau. Charmeteau had the insight to record several albums by Mauro, featuring his brother, drummer Ron Turso in various settings. For this first time digital release, Soul Kid Jazz brings you "Love Songs", digitally cleaned up and remastered for 2022 so that lovers of ballads and straight ahead jazz music can hear this Saxophone master, perhaps for the first time. The story of this album has a rather melancholy tale attached to it, as the mother of Turk and Ron, Angelica, lay dying in a hospital in Florida, USA. The brothers had been booked for a tour of France, and they were unsure if they should depart or not, but their amazing mom told the brothers, "Go and knock 'em out boys!" And so they went on the tour, along with their high school pal, Hammond Organ great Bobby Forrester, and unfortunately Angelica passed while they were out on the road. Upon learning this terrible news, Turk decided it was time to stay in Paris and finish up the Love Songs project. Charmeteau brought them into Sun Studio, and what transpired is a profoundly heartfelt dedication to Angelica Turso, who had passed away on January 15th, 1990. The session was recorded only 3 days later. On this entire album, specially on "Come Back to Sorrento" Turk pours his heart and soul into the music, as he says goodbye to her in song. Rounding out the personnel, on the earlier session is the great pianist Jimmy Rowles, who also blesses us with some vocals on "Do You Know Why Stars Come Out at Night". Another interesting feature is the very rare Ellington chestnut "Until Tonight", which was a Ben Webster feature that Mauro most likely came to love as a kid. The opening track, "Cherokee", outside of Charlie Barnet fame, has usually been played as a super uptempo number, until Turk decided to show off it's inner beauty, as a slow ballad. Rounded out by some additional French jazz cats, this album is just a vibe!