2025 reissue as part of the Blue Note Tone Poet Series - Known for his work with Charles Mingus, pianist Horace Parlan made his first Blue Note appearance with Lou Donaldson before recording six quintessential hard bop dates in 1960-61, including the quintet album ‘Up & Down’ featuring his trio with George Tucker & Al Harewood, plus Grant Green & Booker Ervin. Blue Note Tone Poet Series stereo edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.
"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. Stylistically, the music is balanced between hard bop and soul-jazz, which are tied together by the bluesy tint in the three soloists' playing. All of the six original compositions give the band room to stretch out and to not only show off their chops, but move the music somewhat away from generic conventions and find new territory. In other words, it finds Parlan at a peak, and in many ways, coming into his own as a pianist and a leader." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
| A1 | The Book's Beat |
| A2 | Up And Down |
| A3 | Fugee |
| B1 | The Other Part Of Town |
| B2 | Lonely One |
| B3 | Light Blue |
