Stanley Turrentine: Do You Have Any Sugar?

John Sharpe

Contributor

Recent articles (115 total)

Published: August 1, 1999

Sixty-five-year-old tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine has always been among the leaders in the soul-jazz genre. His readily identifiable sound graced some fine sessions for Blue Note during the 60s and a series of albums for the CTI label in the 70s had strong crossover appeal. Do You Have Any Sugar? contains some fine bluesy grooves (Keep On Keepin' On and Stuff You Gotta' Watch) mixed with some very sappy vocal tracks (Pause To Wonder and Calling You) that are only partially redeemed by Turrentine's buttery, soulful sax. The highlight of the set is Turrentine's rendition of the ballad Far Too Little Love. Jazz veterans Joe Sample (piano), Ray Brown (bass) and Harvey Mason (drums) provide subtle support on this lovely track. Now, if only Stanley would drop some of the schlocky jazz-lite and record more music in this vein, he would have a real winner! ***

Record Label: Concord Music Group
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream