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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZTURRENTINE, Stanley(b 5 April 1934, Philadelphia PA; d 12 September 2000, NYC) Tenor sax. He began on tenor '47, played with Ray Charles '52, then Earl Bostic; Max Roach '59-60, formed his own group, married organist Shirley Scott working with her through the '60s, also making his own albums on Blue Note, mostly with a combo, but Joy Ride had a big band. He split with Scott '71; turned to a pop/soul vein on CTI, then Fantasy, with a funky, blues-tinged feeling which always attracted fans. He gradually forsook his bluesy smoulder for fusiony easy-listening soul; albums reaching the top 200 USA pop LPs included Rough 'N' Tumble and The Look Of Love '67-8 on Blue Note; Sugar '71 on CTI, then compilations The Baddest Turrentine and The Sugar Man on that label; Pieces Of Dreams '74, In The Pocket and Have You Ever Seen The Rain '75, Everybody Come On Out and The Man With The Sad Face '76, Nightwings '77, West Side Highway and What About You! '78, all on Fantasy; Tender Togetherness '81 on Elektra. Back on Blue Note with Wonderland '87 (tunes by Stevie Wonder) and the slightly grittier La Place. In the '90s on MusicMasters Stanley was still a jazz populist, giving the audience what it seems to want on More Than A Mood '92 and If I Could '93, though T Time '95 included too much syrupy synth on the ballads, and should have made better use of Kenny Drew Jr on piano instead. Use The Stairs on Fantasy included Cedar Walton and Ron Carter; Blue Note reissues included Blue Hour, Straight Ahead, That's Where It's At with Les McCann Trio; Jubilee Shout from the early '60s was previously unissued (title track written by brother Tommy). Easy Walker on a Blue Note CD '97 reissued three '60s sessions with the likes of McCoy Tyner, Mickey Roker and Billy Cobham, making old fans wish he would go further back to the big, swinging bluesy sound. Brother Tommy was a popular trumpeter. |