A1 - Louise
A2 - Introspection
A3 - Donna Lee
B1 - Played Twice
B2 - Air
B3 - Criss Cross

Recorded on November 19, 1960, at Nola Penthouse Sound Studios in New York City.

The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy is the third album by Steve Lacy and the first to be released on the Candid label in 1961.

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 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."

The "golden age" of recordings was from 1955 to 1965, at the beginning of the LP and the stereo era, where pure vacuum tube amplification helped produce recordings demonstrating unparalleled fidelity and warmth, lifelike presence and illumination.

This Pure Pleasure LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the original analogue studio tapes through to the cutting head and was pressed with virgin vinyl at Pallas.