The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy is the third album by Steve Lacy

Steve Lacy

Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....

 and the first to be released on the Candid

Candid Records

Candid Records was founded as a subsidiary of Archie Bleyer's Cadence label in New York City in 1960. The jazz writer and civil rights activist, Nat Hentoff, worked as the label's A&R director, aiming to create a representative catalog of the jazz of the day...

 label in 1961. It features performances of tunes written by Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...

, Cecil Taylor

Cecil Taylor

Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...

 and Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

 by Lacy, Charles Davis, John Ore

John Ore

John Ore is an American jazz bassist.Ore attended the New School of Music in Philadelphia from 1943-46, studying cello, and followed this with studies on bass at Juilliard....

 and Roy Haynes

Roy Haynes

Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...

.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 5 stars stating "Some of soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy's most interesting recordings are his earliest ones. After spending periods of time playing with Dixieland groups and then with Cecil Taylor (which was quite a jump), Lacy made several recordings that displayed his love of Thelonious Monk's music plus his varied experiences. On this particular set, Lacy's soprano contrasts well with Charles Davis' baritone (they are backed by bassist John Ore and drummer Roy Haynes) on three of the most difficult Monk tunes ("Introspection," "Played Twice," and "Criss Cross") plus two Cecil Taylor compositions and Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee."".

Track listing

1. "Louise" (Taylor
   Cecil Taylor
   Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...
   
   ) - 5:16
2. "Introspection" (Monk
   Thelonious Monk
   Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
   
   ) - 5:20
3. "Donna Lee" (Davis
   Miles Davis
   Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
   
   ) - 7:41
4. "Played Twice" (Monk) - 5:44
5. "Air" (Taylor) - 6:27
6. "Criss Cross" (Monk) - 5:37

• Recorded at Nola Penthouse Sound Studios, NY, November 19, 1960

Personnel

• Steve Lacy
  Steve Lacy
  Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
  
   - soprano saxophone
• Charles Davis
  Charles Davis (saxophonist)
  Charles Davis is an American jazz baritone saxophonist who performed extensively with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra, among others.-Biography:...
  
   - baritone saxophone
• John Ore
  John Ore
  John Ore is an American jazz bassist.Ore attended the New School of Music in Philadelphia from 1943-46, studying cello, and followed this with studies on bass at Juilliard....
  
   - bass
• Roy Haynes
  Roy Haynes
  Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
  
  - drums