Stanley Turrentine - The Sugar Man (Remastered) (1975/2025) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

If there has ever been an album that fit perfectly into the label sound of CTI Records and then still completely escaped this categorization, then it was "Sugar" by Stanley Turrentine. A veteran of soul jazz since the 50s, Turrentine is accompanied by the cream of the groove scene, including guitarist George Benson, Lonnie Liston Smith on electric piano, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter, organist Butch Cornell and Billy Kaye on drums. The title track is a masterpiece of soul blues with a swinging offbeat, the rhythm section stays nicely in flux with quarters and eighths, while Benson, Hubbard and Turrentine start slowly, accelerate, increase tempo and gait to the climax – especially in Hubbard's solo.

At this point, the mood of the album is such that the party really gets going or gets completely out of control. When Benson takes over his part, full of skilful, radiant and warm arpeggios, everything gets out of joint. Butch Cornell's "Sunshine Alley" is a solid, funky-groovy piece, the organ and Kaye's double-bar notes are the pacemakers here. Turrentine and Hubbard take over the melody and improvise masterfully, now you really can't attach the blues label to the piece anymore and the speed is increased even more. But the big surprise is the last piece, played with the greatest drive and deepest gut feeling since John Coltrane's "Impressions". Turrentine feels deep in his saxophone, produces a wonderful legato on his instrument – and this is remarkable. The bass of Ron Carter flows through the modal interludes, thereby creating the basis for the wonderful interval fantasies of Benson and Smith, who build a series of harmonic bridges through harmonic transitions - from the interaction to the solos. It's hard to believe that this is Turrentine and yet it could not be anyone else.

TRACKLIST

1. Stanley Turrentine - Pieces Of Dreams
2. Stanley Turrentine - The Stretch
3. Stanley Turrentine - Vera Cruz
4. Stanley Turrentine - More (Theme from "Mondo Cane")
5. Stanley Turrentine - Make Me Rainbows (From the Film "Fitzwilly")
6. Stanley Turrentine - Just As I Am



Thanks to the Original customer.