Review: Stanley Turrentine - Don't Mess With Mister T.

Stanley Turrentines successful and re-invigorating run
of soul-jazz on the CTI label continued with 1973’s ‘Don’t Mess With Mr T’. As
always produced by Creed Taylor, Turrentine was again re-united with many of the
labels favourites and stalwarts such as Ron Carter, Joe Farrell and Eric Gale.




Backed by a greater string presence than before, it’s
an obviously more commercial record and perhaps a more accessible one too. More
soul than jazz than his earlier CTI dates, it’s reflected in the choice of
material as well as their arranging and playing on certain pieces. The title
track that kicks off is a strong soul number which balances the embellishments
of the strings well with the front line players, so that everything is audibly
clear and nothing is obscured by the mix.




‘Two For T’ that follows, is much more in the jazz
vein but, written by Turrentine, no less strong. The album then maintains a balanced
yet heady blend of soul-jazz, in the true meaning of the phrase, with some
taking just a slight more jazz slant, others an edge towards a more soul
approach. Regardless, there’s not a bad track here, although ‘I Could Never (Repay
Your Love)’ heads a bit too close to being an early precursor to overwrought smooth-jazz,
before some sterling guitar and organ work lifts things up.

















Not quite as good a record as ‘Sugar’, which contained
some nicely smouldering grooves and funky solos from everyone involved, ‘Don’t
Mess With Mr T’ is a fine record and definitely for anyone with an interest in
Turrentine. The string work and arrangements, though sometimes pointing to the future
seventies excesses that would later lead the tenor man down a dead-end avenue
of schmaltz and over-reliance on sweetened disco string sections, are for the
most part strong yet unintrusive. This unfortunately would be ‘The Sugar Mans’
final recording with CTI, before signing with Fantasy and ultimately releasing
album after album of smooch music, and as such this is perhaps the last great
Stanley Turrentine. Enjoy it.









****

Review: Stanley Turrentine - Have You Ever Seen The Rain

‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’ is perhaps the absolute epitomy of a great jazz musician attempting commercial crossover; attempting and failing. Stanley Turrentine, who’d recorded a number of perfect artistic and commercially successful albums with the CTI label, for some unknown reason chose to leave his home of his greatest successes to join Fantasy. Immediately, with his label debut ‘Pieces Of Dreams’, the results were not pretty. His third album for Fantasy, as with that earlier record and indeed most of his mid-to-late seventies work, prominently features a full-size string section, and it’s this overwhelming presence that really scuppers the music here.

Saccharine then is the key word, with everything drowned in unpleasant gloopy-sounding strings, and with none of the material here anything but ballads. ‘Tommy’s Tune’, by Turrentines trmpet player brother Tommy is a little more of an up-tempo style ballad and, thankfully missing the strings, is unarguably the best piece, with most of the rest generally being covers of other then-current hits. The title track is of course from Creedence Clearwater Revival, with ‘You’ coming from Marlena Shaw, and Earth, Wind & Fire supplying ‘Reasons’ and ‘That’s The Way Of The World’.

Phenomenally kitsch and soft, it absolutely reeks of the label aiming for a cash-in. Maybe Turrentine really did love and just want to play ballads and only ballads, but where someone in control had aimed for romance, they instead hit cloying and over-sentimental. Most surprising of all though is just who is squandered on this travesty. Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, masterful players both, are here stripped of any personality – most likely in case they interfere with the strings – and Freddie Hubbard plays beautifully too, but somehow uninterestingly. Everyone else too gets to sound mostly like a jobbing sessioner, except the main man himself who very nearly acquits himself with his soulful playing.

Most likely to have a track or two end up on a compilation titled something along the lines of ‘Music For Lovers’ or ‘Candlelit Ballads For You And Your Lover’, it’s a career low for the saxophone man and deserves a seriously wide berth indeed.

*

Review: Stanley Turrentine - Common Touch

Husband and wife team, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine and organ maestro Shirley Scott, recorded some many good sessions together, although due to featuring on competing independent labels, mostly they did so through clever and subtle disguise – Turrentine appearing on Scott’s recordings as one ‘Stan Turner’, and Scott almost not bothering at all, with the pseudonym ‘Little Miss Cott’.

Regardless of the various such feats of subterfuge and daring, the music they made as a team was often among the best each recorded, Turrentine’s tenor in particular always well-suited to an organ backing. ‘Common Touch’ though is probably the lesser of their numerous collaborative works, the familiar easy-grooving of their usual partnership here just a little too easy and and a little too laid-back.

That’s not to say it’s a bad work in any way. The relaxed material and feel is raised and uplifted by the soulful playing of both, with Scott’s gospel-esque organ well to the fore. The featured guitar too gets some nice moments to shine also, thus stopping this from being an entirely husband-and-wife effort, but the rhythm team here doesn’t really get to do too much beyond standard horizontal fare.

Not essential Turrentine, the average jazzer will find the pacing too reclined and creative ideas light on the ground. And at times it does border dangerously close to creating the genre of lounge-jazz. But for anyone who likes the easy going grooves (it is after all part of Blue Note ‘Rare Groove’ series) and a more chilled listen to unwind and finger-snap to, then this is another pleasure from ‘The Sugar Man’ and his lady.

***

Review: Stanley Turrentine - Do You Have Any Sugar?

After a lengthy stint with ‘Blue Note’ in the 60’s, and starting with 1970’s ‘Sugar’, Stanley Turrentine made sure he was always firmly in control of his recorded output, and subsequently found himself blessed with strong and consistent sales, his sound always sitting somewhere in the wide area between big soul-jazz and swooningly romantic ballad playing. In truth though, his best recordings musically have always been in the earlier category, while his more lounge material has always done good financial business for Turrentine with the candelit dinner and wine crowd.

‘Do You Have Any Sugar?’ recorded late in Turrentine’s career, at the age of 65, is a sweet and soulful record that lies somewhere comfortably between straight-ahead jazz and it’s pop and soul counterparts, but benefitting from having little of the sickly strings that smothered some of his more overly ‘romantic’ works in heavy schmaltz. Fielding a set of different small groups here, he uses electric sounds without being overly reliant or attempting to sound too contemporary and he enrols a set of good side-men in some key guest players, with strong mention in particular going to Rick Braun and his rich, smooth trumpet on ‘Stuff You Gotta Watch’.

The better cuts here are, as expected, the straighter and more soul-inflected jazz pieces, although the smooth numbers aren’t themselves bad, more just a little too light and insubstantial. ‘Favourite Heart’ is a relaxed samba that suits the soulful Sugar Man nicely, but it is the medium paced and hugely melodic ‘Keep On Keepin On’ and ‘Back In The Day’ and their driven spirited feel that stand out the most.

Singer Niki Harris, daughter of Gene (who famously played with Turrentine on masterwork ‘The Blue Hour’) and the most distinctive element of the album, contributes her impressive vocals to a number of the cuts here, but alas with some decidedly mixed results. Generic smooth obvious radio fodder assault the senses with syrup to spare in the sugary ‘Pause To Wonder’ and the so-treacley-it’ll-rot-your-teeth title-track, but at the other end of the scale ‘Calling You’ offers a more meditative mood to proceedings that showcases both Harris and Turrentine masterfully. The clear highlight though is without a doubt Turrentine’s soulful rendition of ‘Far Too Little Love’, a beautiful ballad featuring the legendary Joe Sample on piano playing a delightful solo.

Full of strong moments, there’s a good deal to love here, but there’s also a great amount that veers into sickly smooth jazz territory. Niki Harris is a strong singer too, but most of the tunes that are given over for her to take centre stage with the big man himself tend to border too much on saccharine pop-jazz, and as such most of her numbers are fairly fluffy and indistinct. And therein lays the issue with ‘Do You Have Any Sugar?’ - for every golden Turrentine moment, we get sappy and syrupy airbrushed jazz-lite that wouldn’t sit out of place on a Kenny G album. Fans will relish the excellent solos Mr. T still belts out in his own uniquely bluesy way, and for the strength of playing at this late a stage in his career. But it’s far from great, and the overall feeling for anyone listening is bound to be one wishing that he’d record less crossover slush and just follow his instincts, recording an album purely of his own desire. Not a classic then, but sporadically brilliant.

***

Review: Stanley Turrentine - Salt Song

Stanley Turrentine became a mega-star off the back of 'Sugar'. And he simultaneously was able to keep the momentum going on it's follow-up 'Salt Song' and yet still keep his artist energies in full swing.

A successful tenure on Creed Taylors CTI label rewarded Stanley Turrentine with enviable artistic and commercial highs; his work with Taylor reportedly selling close to ten times more than he ever had with Alfred Lion’s Blue Note. Taking elements of fusion, without ever becoming fully affiliated with the movement, his recordings are consistent and hugely accessible for both new and old listeners alike.

After the massive success of ‘Sugar’ – which would later lead to one of his two nicknames, ‘The Sugar Man’ – Turrentine recorded ‘Salt Song’, and though not as strong a record as his brilliant new label debut, it is only just a small fraction behind. Eumir Deodato is the man to thank for the compelling sound of the record, with subtle and lightly funky arrangements creating a smooth lightness of touch, and some great percussive flair from the rhythm man of the decade, Mr Airto Moreira.

Freddie Hubbard’s ‘Gibraltar’ leads, with its fun time shifts and highly distinctive theme suited well to the slight fusion funk. Turrentines solos are up there with his very best and hugely under-rated guitarist Eric Gale shows why he was in such demand throughout CTI’s lifespan, with both some sterling rhythm and lead work. ‘I Told Jesus’ then changes pace for a full-on gospel outing, replete with prominent choir vocals. It’s a strong tune, with the tenor man sounding highly soulful and suitably bluesy, but it does feel just a bit out of place, especially when sandwiched between the more energised ‘Gibraltar’ and the stellar title track that follows immediately after.

‘Salt Song’, by Milton Nascimento is aptly the most Brazillian sounding track here, and one of the best; moving between standard and double time, the whole band follow skilfully with Moreira displaying some incredible and fast playing. ‘I Haven’t Got Anything Better To Do’ slows things down again for a blues and some more gospel strings, before ‘Storm’ finishes on a highly funky and rhythmic showcase for the whole band, with appropriately Turrentine taking the main honours.

It has to be said that ‘Salt Song’ is not ‘Sugar Part 2’. The groove is different and with a definite look to gospel and blues more than the R&B and funk of before. That said, for any fans of the first record, they will definitely find listening satisfaction here. All strong tunes, the slower pacing of two of the numbers might put some off, but the faster uptempo numbers are just exceptional. As always though, it’s ‘The Sugar Man’s’ show and his playing, as it always was, is bluesy, soulful and magnificent.

****

Review: Stanley Turrentine - Sugar

Stanley Turrentine possessed one of the biggest and fattest soulful tenor sax sounds of all time. And 'Sugar' is his masterpiece. Anyone with even a passing interest in Turrentine or soul-jazz needs to look here.

After some twenty varying works over almost ten years for the established Blue Note label, ranging widely in quality but with a good number of excellent sessions, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine then signed with the still young CTI. Formed by Verve producer-extraordinaire Creed Taylor, who brought with him highly-regarded Blue Note engineer Rudy Van Gelder, the label fast developed a strong reputation for sharp sound, production quality and most importantly giving an extra commercial boost to many jazz artists without having to resort to pandering or ‘selling-out’.

Turrentine joined the label in 1970, having made a respectable if not particularly huge impact with his former employers. A long-time yet still young veteran of the soul-jazz scene, he was quickly paired by Taylor with some of the finest contemporary players around, including the fast-rising George Benson on guitar, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Lonnie Liston Smith and Butch Cornell, on organ and electric piano respectively, Billy Kaye on drums and unsurprisingly Ron Carter on bass. Carter being of course almost the sole bass player of the CTI label. Together, armed with just three extended tracks, they seemingly effortlessly made Turrentines then best record.

‘Sugar’, the title track, is a grooving soul-blues number with a mellow yet irrestibly funky rhythm at its centre giving a nice springboard to Turrentine, Hubbard and Benson to turn up the heat and lay down some smouldering and blistering solos. It’s a perfect party number, was a suitably huge hit, and would become a firm Turrentine fan favourite, before eventually even becoming Turrentine’s most popular nickname.

Butch Cornells own ‘Sunshine Alley’ is a funkier number with a nice rhythm set by Smith’s organ. Faster paced than the opening cooker, it keeps the party feel going from the first piece and ups the groove by just the right amount. A surprising take on John Coltranes own ‘Impressions’ then wraps everything up with an emotionally uplifting and solid ending, and again highlights all the soloists strengths as performers.

It’s not a fusion session, although there are some electric and electronic instruments and other fusion elements here, and it isn’t jazz-funk either - ‘Sugar’ though is Turrentine’s own blended take on soul-jazz with plenty of both funk and groove. It’s a very listenable record and has many fans. While his Blue Note records can be good, and they frequently are, very few are as exceptional as the recording shown here, and there’s often a lack of unique distinction to his own voice. This though is an incredibly satisfying listen and is easily one of the great mans, and the decades, best.

*****