If e'er at that topographic point were a tape that both check perfectly together with stood exterior the CTI Records' stable sound, it is Sugar past times artist/stanley-turrentine-mn0000012644">Stanley Turrentine. Recorded inwards 1970, alone iii tracks appear on the master copy album (on the reissue there's a bonus alive version of the championship track, which nearly outshines the master copy together with is 50 percentage longer). artist/turrentine-mn0000012644">Turrentine, a veteran of the soul-jazz scene since the '50s, was accompanied past times a who's who of groove players, including guitarist artist/george-benson-mn0000201760">George Benson, artist/lonnie-liston-smith-mn0000228058">Lonnie Liston Smith on electrical piano, artist/freddie-hubbard-mn0000798326">Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, bassist artist/ron-carter-mn0000275832">Ron Carter, organist artist/butch-cornell-mn0002285006">Butch Cornell, together with drummer artist/billy-kaye-mn0000643115">Billy Kaye, alongside others. (The alive version adds artist/airto-mn0000609992">Airto, flutist artist/hubert-laws-mn0000234374">Hubert Laws, drummer artist/billy-cobham-mn0000767741">Billy Cobham, together with organist artist/johnny-hammond-mn0000329977">Johnny Hammond.) The championship rail is a deep someone blues workout with a swinging backbeat together with the beat department fluidly streaming through fours together with eights every bit artist/benson-mn0000201760">Benson, artist/hubbard-mn0000798326">Hubbard, together with artist/turrentine-mn0000012644">Turrentine laid about piece of cake together with crank upward the heat, making the footstep together with stride of the cutting simmer together with thence popular -- particularly inwards artist/hubbard-mn0000798326">Hubbard's solo. This is really midnight blue, together with the party's at the dot of getting actually serious or almost to suspension up. By the fourth dimension artist/benson-mn0000201760">Benson picks upward his break, total of slick, shiny, warm arpeggios, the seams are bursting together with couples are edging into corners. artist/butch-cornell-mn0002285006">Butch Cornell's "Sunshine Alley" is a solid, funky groover, paced past times organ together with double fours past times artist/kaye-mn0001394251">Kaye. artist/turrentine-mn0000012644">Turrentine together with artist/hubbard-mn0000798326">Hubbard stride into the tune together with locomote along the vamp inwards the pocket, riding out past times the blues trouble into a tag that exactly revs the thing upward fifty-fifty further. But the big surprise is inwards the concluding track, 1 of the most solidly swinging, from-the-gut emotional rides of artist/john-coltrane-mn0000175553">John Coltrane's "Impressions" e'er taken. artist/turrentine-mn0000012644">Turrentine is deep within his horn, ringing out inwards legato with everything he has -- together with it is considerable. artist/ron-carter-mn0000275832">Ron Carter's bass playing flows through the modal interludes, creating a footing for some beautifully intervallic conception past times artist/benson-mn0000201760">Benson together with artist/smith-mn0000228058">Smith past times edifice a serial of harmonic bridges through the agency to solos. It's difficult to believe this is artist/turrentine-mn0000012644">Turrentine, withal is could endure no 1 else. If jazz fans are interested inwards artist/turrentine-mn0000012644">Turrentine beyond the Blue Note catamenia -- together with they should endure -- this is a heck of a house to hear for satisfaction.
There are ii sides to Stanley Turrentine. One nosotros touched on earlier with our review of Blue Hour was his stint at Blue Note during the early on 60s where he contributed his warm, breathy sax tone to countless jazz classics. The other side of Turrentine was his function at CTI records inwards the early on 70s where his trademark sax audio was instantly works life inwards a funkier, glossier environment.
Sugar, released inwards 1971, was Turrentine’s starting fourth dimension foray into what would locomote a novel era of jazz punctuated past times all star backing musicians, glossy packaging with sultry encompass art, together with the full general warm rich audio that became a hallmark of CTI. As fourth dimension went on this audio would dwindle into polish jazz, but inwards the early on 70s it was novel together with exciting together with wholly satisfying.
Things kicking off with the groove laden championship rail that became somewhat of a jazz measure over the years. The drums audio total together with thick, rolling inwards similar thunder together with keep a churning, wearisome boiling momentum throughout the song. The horn lines are fantastically moody together with harken dorsum to something you lot would possess got heard on 1 of Turrentine’s Blue Note albums although here, inwards the funky glaze that was CTI, they accept on a whole novel life. Turrentine wastes no fourth dimension jumping correct into his solo which is ripe with rigid melodious lines that groove with an almost gutbucket panache.
Freddie Hubbard follows on trumpet, his joyful lines together with brilliant audio forming an fantabulous contrast to Turrentine’s heavier sax. The band maintains a steady groove throughout together with delightfully manages to locomote along everything at a human foot tapping simmer that is exactly thence darn satisfying you lot can’t assist but revel inwards it. Guitarist George Benson floats inwards for a brusk but satisfying solo piece the horns trip the lite fantastic toe exactly about the primary topic behind him. As the groove fades out at the halt you lot pray it’s non actually over because this is the variety of groove that could locomote all nighttime together with locomote out everyone satisfied.
“Sunshine Alley” features the horns doing their thing with wonderful aplomb together with audio particularly prissy when the band drops out for a moment. Organist Burch Cornell gets a jeopardy to shine with a funky belatedly nighttime solo that burns inwards all the correct places without e'er overplaying. Meanwhile the drums together with percussion contribute a steady rolling, somewhat Latin season that alone adds to the excitement. Billy Kaye is a fantastic drummer that doesn’t larn anywhere close plenty mention. His steady rolling rhythms serve the music good together with he continually comes upward with tasty, classy fills.
Benson rolls inwards with some other slippery solo on guitar piece Hubbard soars inwards with a violet trumpet solo that almost sounds similar Lee Morgan for a 2d or two. Very nice. Turrentine comes dorsum inwards together with reminds everyone whose album this actually is – his solo smokes without e'er existence also flashy. So many players sometimes accept “the to a greater extent than notes the better” approach but Turrentine has a unique mightiness to lay dorsum together with allow his sax say the flush inwards brusk bursts of creativity.
“Impressions,” the Coltrane classic, is the 3rd together with concluding rail on the master copy album. Coming inwards at a satisfying xiv minutes, it is the cornerstone of the album together with gives everyone a jeopardy to strut their materials every bit the band tackles the tune at a lively medium tempo that is only breathtaking. What actually drives this rail for me is the beat department – the bass, drums, together with congas all working together every bit some variety of iii headed jazz dragon. Bassist Ron Carter is inwards particularly fine cast here, delivering classic jazz walking bass lines with the slightest comport on of funk, all piece weaving inwards together with exactly about the percussion with remarkable skill.
Everything comes together all at in 1 lawsuit together with for the entirety of the xiv minutes it is eternal jazz bliss. There is something inwards the air, something inwards that warm sound, that is exactly indescribable. Turrentine’s muscular, economical lines, Cornell’s groovy organ, Hubbard’s soaringly violet trumpet, Benson’s glassy polish solo, it all works together to consummate a whole slice where no 1 instrumentalist stands out greater than the other. The alone thing that matters is the groove of the song, the feeling of belatedly nighttime electricity inwards the air. For xiv minutes at that topographic point is null together with no 1 else, alone these rattling fine jazz players inwards a recording studio inwards New Bailiwick of Jersey somewhere, grooving the nighttime away. It is everything proficient jazz should endure together with succeeds where thence many others fail.
Sugar is 1 fine album that never seems to overstay its welcome. It’s funky, jazzy, warm, together with cool. If you’re looking to branch out from the Blue Note era of Turrentine’s work, or larn into hip early on 70s jazz, this would endure a fine house to start. The performances are corporation together with the music is stellar – everyone involved is inwards it purely for the music together with null else. And really, isn’t that how cracking jazz should be?
Note: The 2002 CD unloosen adds a xiv infinitesimal version of “Sugar” played alive on July 19, 1971, exactly a 24-hour interval later the instantly available California Concert: The Hollywood Palladium. The 2010 40th Anniversary version of Sugar includes the same alive rail together with also adds “Gibraltar” every bit an additional track.
Track listing
All compositions past times Stanley Turrentine except every bit indicated.
"Sugar" - 10:03
"Sunshine Alley" (Butch Cornell) - 10:48
"Impressions" (John Coltrane) - 14:14
"Gibraltar" - 9:35
"Sugar" [Live] - 14:29 Bonus rail on CD reissue
Personnel
Stanley Turrentine - tenor saxophone
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet
George Benson - guitar
Ron Carter - bass
Lonnie Liston Smith - electrical pianoforte (tracks 1,4)
Butch Cornell - organ (tracks 2,3)
Billy Kaye - drums (tracks 1,2,3,4)
Richard "Pablo" Landrum - congas (tracks 2,3,4)
Hubert Laws - flute (track 5)
Hank Crawford - alto saxophone (track 5)
Johnny "Hammond" Smith - organ, electrical pianoforte (track 5)
Billy Cobham - drums (track 5)
Airto Moreira - percussion (track 5)
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