Stanley Turrentine

Stanley William Turrentine was born on April 5, 1934, in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. His father, Thomas Sr., played saxophone with Al Cooper’s Savoy Sultans. His mother was a stride pianist and piano teacher who instilled a bluesy, soulful feel that became his trademark. Turrentine took up tenor saxophone at age 13 under his father’s instruction. At 12, tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet encouraged young Stanley to sit in with him, an early validation that shaped his trajectory.

Turrentine’s early career centered on blues and R&B. His older brother Tommy, a jazz trumpeter, gave him his first paying gig in Pittsburgh. After high school graduation in 1951 at age 17, Turrentine joined blues bandleader Lowell Fulson’s touring band, which included a young Ray Charles. In 1953 he replaced John Coltrane in Earl Bostic’s R&B group, working alongside his brother. Military service in the mid-1950s with the 158th Army Band provided his only formal musical training. In March 1959, fresh from the Army, Turrentine joined drummer Max Roach’s quintet and recorded prolifically, earning recognition in the Coleman Hawkins tradition.

Blue Note Records signed Turrentine in 1960, with label head Alfred Lion impressed by his ability to blend soulful tenor sound with contemporary jazz concepts. He debuted as leader on Look Out! (1960) with pianist Horace Parlan. That year he recorded soul-jazz sessions including Back at the Chicken Shack and Midnight Special with organist Jimmy Smith. Throughout the 1960s, Turrentine became the soul-jazz standard-bearer, recording That’s Where It’s At (1962) and Blue Hour (1961) with the Three Sounds. His 1960 marriage to organist Shirley Scott solidified his role in the soul-jazz movement; they frequently recorded together until their 1971 divorce.

In 1970, Turrentine signed with Creed Taylor’s CTI label and began recording jazz fusion. Sugar (1970) yielded his signature tune and commercial breakthrough. He continued with Salt Song (1971) and Cherry (1972), achieving crossover success but drawing criticism from jazz purists. Turrentine returned to straight-ahead jazz in the 1980s, recording Mr. Natural (1981) and remaining active through the 1990s. He died on September 12, 2000, from a stroke at a Manhattan hospital, aged 66. Burial followed in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Cemetery.