A legend of the tenor saxophone, Stanley Turrentine was renowned for his distinctively thick, rippling tone, and earthy grounding in the blues. In fact, his distinctively thick, warm, blues-drenched tone made him a defining voice in soul jazz and a perennially popular figure across several genres. Turrentine recorded in a wide variety of settings, but was best-known for his Blue Note soul-jazz jams of the ’60s. Although most commonly referred to as “Mr. T” he was also known as “The Sugar Man” in more intimate circles.
His frequent collaborations with organist Jimmy Smith resulted in a treasure trove of classic recordings … evidence their ever popular Midnight Special (above), recorded at the 1987 Mount Fuji Jazz Festival, with Kenny Burrrell on guitar and the fabulous Art Blakey on drums.
Another Smith collaboration, Scratch My Back (upper right) features the same group with Grady Tate on drums … recorded in 1985 at NYC’s Town Hall. On the (lower right) is Sugar with Mr. T, of course, on tenor, Jimmy Smith once more at the Hammond, Freddie Hubbard trumpet, Kenny Burrell guitar, Ron Carter bass, and Joe Chambers playing drums … from the 1987 Mount Fuji Jazz Festival.
