Stanley Turrentine

Stanley Turrentine

Turrentine in 1976
Background information
Born April 5, 1934
Origin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died September 12, 2000 (aged 66)
Genres Bebop, hard bop, jazz blues, soul jazz
Occupation(s) Bandleader, composer, saxophonist
Instruments Tenor saxophone
Years active 1959–2000
Labels Blue Note, Fantasy, CTI, Prestige, Impulse!
Associated acts Shirley Scott, Tommy Turrentine, Jimmy Smith, Freddie Hubbard, Kei Akagi

Stanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man" (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.[1]

Biography

Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family. His father, Thomas Turrentine, Sr., was a saxophonist with Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans, his mother played stride piano, and his older brother Tommy Turrentine became a professional trumpet player.[2]

He began his prolific career with blues and rhythm and blues bands, and was at first greatly influenced by Illinois Jacquet. In the 1950s, he went on to play with the groups of Lowell Fulson and Earl Bostic.

Turrentine received his only formal musical training during his military stint in the mid-'50s. In 1959, he left the military and went straight into the band of the drummer Max Roach.

He married the organist Shirley Scott in 1960 and the two frequently played and recorded together. In the 1960s, he started working with organist Jimmy Smith, and made many soul jazz recordings both with Smith and as a leader.

In the 1970s, after his professional split and divorce from Scott, Turrentine turned to jazz fusion and signed for Creed Taylor's CTI label. His first album for CTI, Sugar proved one of his biggest successes and a seminal recording for the label. He worked with Freddie Hubbard, Milt Jackson, George Benson, Bob James, Richard Tee, Idris Muhammad, Ron Carter, Grant Green and Eric Gale, to name a few. He returned to soul jazz in the 1980s and into the 1990s.

Turrentine lived in Fort Washington, Maryland, from the early 90s until his death.

He died of a stroke in New York City on September 12, 2000, and is buried in Pittsburgh's Allegheny Cemetery.[3]

Discography

As leader

Blue Note Records
CTI Records
Fantasy Records
Elektra
Other labels

As sideman

With Kenny Burrell

With Donald Byrd

With Georgie Fame

With Astrud Gilberto

With Roy Hargrove

With Gene Harris

With Freddie Hubbard

With Duke Jordan

With Diana Krall

With Abbey Lincoln

With Les McCann

With Jimmy McGriff

With David "Fathead" Newman

With Horace Parlan

With Duke Pearson

With Ike Quebec

With Dizzy Reece

With Max Roach

With Mongo Santamaria

With Shirley Scott

With Marlena Shaw

With Horace Silver

With Jimmy Smith

With Art Taylor

With Tommy Turrentine

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic
  2. ↑ "NPR's Jazz Profiles: Stanley Turrentine". Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  3. ↑ Nowlin, Rick (2000-09-13). "Obituary: Hill District-born jazz great Turrentine dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2007-06-06.

External links