Search - Joe Turner :: Nobody in Mind

Deep, deep blues

T. Bekken | Austmarka Norway | 01/31/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In my opinion, Joe Turner's late recordings for Norman Granz' Pablo label were among the best stuff he made. The songs are long extended jams, and everybody gets plenty room to solo. Milt Jackson is especially good on this cd, and his effort makes you wonder why the vibes are not used more often in a blues setting. Eldridge and guitarist Pee Wee Crayton also work wonders here. On top of it all, of course, is Turner's monumental voice, which is haunting. I first heard this album when I was about twelve years old, and I am pretty certain that it was an influence for life. I am now a professional jazz musician, and once I ran into Milt Jackson in the elevator at the Oslo Grand Hotel during the Oslo Jazz Festival. I was so awestruck that I only managed to mutter a short hello. I now wish I'd had the sense to tell him how much I loved this album when it first came out. A year after the elevator incident, Jackson was gone."