Stanley Turrentine
Turrentine in 1976
Background information
Birth name	Stanley William Turrentine
Born	( 1934-04-05 ) April 5, 1934 Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	September 12, 2000 (2000-09-12) (aged 66) New York City , U.S.
Genres	Jazz soul jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician record producer
Instrument(s)	Tenor saxophone
Discography	Stanley Turrentine discography
Years active	1959?2000
Labels	Blue Note Fantasy CTI Prestige Impulse! MusicMasters
Spouse(s)	Shirley Scott ​ ​ ( m.  1960; div.  1971) ​

Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 ? September 12, 2000) ^[1] was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touching on jazz fusion during a stint on CTI in the 1970s. ^[2] He was described by critic Steve Huey as "renowned for his distinctively thick, rippling tone [and] earthy grounding in the blues." ^[3] In the 1960s Turrentine was married to organist Shirley Scott , with whom he frequently recorded, and he was the younger brother of trumpeter Tommy Turrentine , with whom he also recorded. ^[4]

Biography [ edit ]

Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh 's Hill District , Pennsylvania, United States, ^[1] into a musical family. His father, Thomas Turrentine Sr., was a saxophonist with Al Cooper 's Savoy Sultans , ^[5] his mother played stride piano, and his older brother Tommy Turrentine was a trumpet player. ^[4]

He began his prolific career with blues and rhythm and blues bands, and was at first greatly influenced by Illinois Jacquet . ^[4] He first toured with Lowell Fulson 's band in 1951, at 17, ^[4] and in 1953 Earl Bostic asked him to join his band, replacing John Coltrane . ^[4] He also played in groups led by the pianist and composer Tadd Dameron . ^[2]

Turrentine received his only formal musical training during his military stint in the mid-1950s. In 1959, he left the military and went straight into the band of the drummer Max Roach . ^[5]

He married the organist Shirley Scott in 1960 and the two frequently played and recorded together. ^[5] In the 1960s, he started working with organist Jimmy Smith , and made many soul jazz recordings both with Smith and as a leader. ^[5] Scott and Turrentine divorced in 1971.

Turrentine turned to jazz fusion and signed for Creed Taylor 's CTI label . ^[2] His first album for CTI, Sugar , recorded in 1970, proved one of his biggest successes and a seminal recording for the label, ^[5] closely followed by Don't Mess with Mister T. (1971). He worked with Freddie Hubbard , Milt Jackson , George Benson , Bob James , Richard Tee , Idris Muhammad , Ron Carter , Grant Green and Eric Gale . He returned to soul jazz in the 1980s and into the 1990s.

Turrentine lived in Fort Washington, Maryland , from the early 1990s until his death.

He died of a stroke in New York City on September 12, 2000, aged 66, and was buried in Pittsburgh's Allegheny Cemetery . ^[1]

Discography [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Stanley Turrentine at Find a Grave
• Stanley Turrentine at Hard Bop, accessed March 23, 2011
• Stanley Turrentine biography at All About Jazz accessed January 6, 2010