Stanley Turrentine

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 5, 1934, Stanley Turrentine was a jazz player whose clear and direct manner with the saxophone and background in the blues led him to immense success as a performer of free-flowing R&B and soul funk. He played with Ray Charles and Earl Bostic, made many recordings that placed on the R&B charts and earned three Grammy Award nominations. Stanley Turrentine played music as a child with his father, Thomas Turrentine, who also played the saxophone, pianist mother, and older brother Tommy Turrentine, who played trumpet. He played locally in R&B and blues bands and, in the 1950s, he worked with bandleaders Lowell Fulson and Earl Bostic. Following military service, he joined drummer Max Roach's quintet and performed with his wife, organist Shirley Scott. Stanley Turrentine's album Rough ‘n' Tumble went to Number 20 on Billboard's R&B Chart in 1967 and the following year, he played in the Horace Silver Quintet on the album Serenade to a Soul Sister, which reached Number 41. The same year, his own album The Look of Love (1968) peaked at Number 38. Other hit albums include Sugar (1970), Salt Song (1971), Pieces of Dreams (1974), In the Pocket (1975) and Have You Ever Seen the Rain (1975). His single “Hope That We Can Be Together Soon” was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best R&B Instrumental Performance in 1976 and his album Nightwings (1977) went to Number 47 on the R&B Chart. He had two more Grammy Award nominations for Best Jazz Fusion Performance with the album Betcha in 1979 and Best R&B Instrumental Performance for “Boogie on Reggae Woman” in 1987. Stanley Turrentine continued to perform regularly until his sudden death from a stroke at the age of 66 on September 12, 2000. Since his death, numerous Stanley Turrentine compilations and reissues have been releases including a 2022 audiophile pressing of his hit 1966 album Rough ‘n' Tumble.