Published on Sep 11, 2003
So. Another jazz review. Another walk in the dark with someone
who isn’t a hundred percent sure where he’s going. But trust me on
this one: in the galaxy of jazz saxophone players, Stanley
Turrentine is a major constellation.
After early forays that included one stint playing in a jazz
group with Ray Charles, and another replacing the great John
Coltrane in a combo, Turrentine struck out on his own with a series
of soul-jazz albums for Blue Note. A prolific recording artist who
put out two or three albums a year steadily through the 60s, the
early 70s saw Turrentine begin experimenting with fusion, bringing
in electric piano and putting greater focus on melody.
Turrentine’s 1971 album
Salt Song, re-released in 1997 with a bonus track added, is
among his best and features an all-star cast of seasoned players.
It’s a brilliant combination of traditional hard-bop jazz jams with
heavier, r&b/funk rhythms, fusion music in the truest sense of
the word. It’s funky yet sophisticated, smooth yet full of soul,
and its backbone is Turrentine’s rich, silvery tone, ever-graceful
yet full of playful personality.
The disc opens with the whirling rhythm of “Gibraltar,” its
circular, bopping-good bass line courtesy of jazz superstar Ron
Carter. This Freddie Hubbard composition is also spiced with an
extended solo from Eric Gale on guitar, whose nimble, expressive
work is all over this album.
Another highlight is the title track, a Brazilian romp with
aggressive percussion runs from Airto Moreira flowing into a
silky-smooth sax interlude before the two themes merge and
accelerate, an arsenal of Amazonian percussion rattling away
double-time down below while Turrentine decorates the upper
registers with a layer of swing and grace. Bonus track “Vera Cruz,”
also composed by Milton Nascimento, has a similar samba flavor in
the rhythm track, albeit with virtual scat-soloing from Turrentine
as he attacks the melody line with energy and intensity.
In between, Turrentine slows things down with the gospel-tinged
lament “I Told Jesus” (heavy on the organ) and “I Haven’t Got
Anything Better To Do” a sultry nightclub jazz ballad featuring
brushes, cymbals, upright bass and gentle electric piano. Finishing
off the track, strings add an extra dollop of romance as Turrentine
eases through a strong, sweet melody.
The steady-building album-closer and sole Turrentine composition
“Storm” spotlights superb drum work by Billy Cobham and another
rippling, elegant Gale solo on the electric guitar, in addition to
more fine sax work from the author. They just don’t make music like
this anymore – both graceful and exciting, improvisational and
precise. It’s sweet, sweet stuff, as well as a very enjoyable next
step in my own personal jazz appreciation learning process. Highly
recommended.