Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bruce Turner was born on July 5, 1922 in Saltburn, North Yorkshire, England and educated at Dulwich College. He learned to play the clarinet as a schoolboy and began playing alto saxophone while serving in the Royal Air Force in 1943 during World War II. He played with Freddy Randall from 1948~53 and then worked on the Queen Mary in a dance band and in a quartet with Dill Jones and Peter Ind.

In 1950 he briefly studied under Lee Konitz in New York City. His first period with Humphrey Lyttelton ran from 1953 to 1957. After leaving Lyttelton he led his Jump Band from 1957~65, which was featured along with his arrangements in the 1961 film Living Jazz. In 1961, Turner recorded Jumpin’ at the NFT (National Film Theatre) and the album was issued later that year on Doug Dobell’s 77 Records label, coinciding with the film’s release.

In January 1963, the British music magazine New Musical Express reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at Alexandra Palace. The event included George Melly, Diz Disley, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer, Monty Sunshine, Bob Wallis, Alex Welsh, Mick Mulligan and Turner.

Returning to Randall’s group from 1964 to 1966, he then played with Don Byas and Acker Bilk till 1970. He went on to work with Wally Fawkes, John Chilton, Stan Greig), Alex Welsh, and Dave Green. He led small ensembles in the 1990s until his death. His autobiography Hot Air, Cool Music, published by Quartet Books, appeared in 1984. He wrote a column on jazz for the Daily Worker. Saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader Bruce Turner passed away on November 28, 1993 in Newport Pagnell.

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Requisites

Sugar ~ Stanley Turrentine | By Eddie Carter

The landscape of jazz was changing as it entered the seventies.  Miles Davis began pushing the envelope from Hard-Bop and Post-Bop to Jazz Fusion with In A Silent Way (1969), and Bitches Brew (1970) would take it further in that direction.  Due to his commercial success with Bitches Brew, some musicians also moved from those styles into Avant-Garde and Free Jazz.  Still, others began a journey toward what would eventually be labeled Smooth Jazz.  Stanley Turrentine, a veteran Soul-Jazz tenor saxophonist since the fifties had just ended a decade-long association with Blue Note that began with his debut, Look Out (1960), and was looking to build his audience.  He signed with CTI Records in 1970, the independent label owned by producer Creed Taylor which originally began as a subsidiary of A&M Records in 1967.

Though no one knew it at the time, Sugar (CTI Records CTI 6005) would become the biggest selling album of Stanley’s career and the title song, a phenomenal hit earning him the nickname, “The Sugar Man”.  The record’s success was also instrumental in changing the direction for future CTI releases toward more Jazz-Funk and Funk-Soul albums.  Stanley is joined by an impressive supporting cast, label mate Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Lonnie Liston Smith (track: A1) on electric piano, Butch Cornell (tracks: A2, B1) on organ, George Benson on guitar, Ron Carter on bass, Billy Kaye on drums, and Richard “Pablo” Landrum (tracks: A2, B1) on congas.  My copy used in this report is the 2009 Pure Pleasure Records UK Stereo Audiophile reissue (PPAN CTI 6005).

Side One starts with Stanley’s original, Sugar.  The rhythm section begins at mid~tempo with an infectious introduction hooking you from the opening notes.  The front line presents the melody with a lightly swinging beat.  Stanley strides confidently into a danceable lead solo.  Freddie settles into a funky groove on the second statement.  George tells the next story with some bluesy guitar work and assistance from both horns providing a rhythmic supplement for one chorus.  The ensemble reprises the melody and disappears into a slow fade.

Sunshine Alley by Butch Cornell opens with Cornell leading the rhythm section fueled by Kaye’s hypnotic drums and Landrum’s soulful conga.  Both horns take it from there on the bluesy theme.  Cornell, who I was unfamiliar with before his appearance here, easily holds his own with a convincing lead solo.  Benson gives a splendid performance with the rhythm section slipping neatly alongside.  Hubbard cooks up something good next, then Turrentine adds some soul food to the final solo that reaches a peak of inspiration preceding the ensemble taking the song out.

The group closes with a vigorous blowing rendition of John Coltrane’s Impressions occupying Side Two.  Butch starts the song with a soulful introduction.  The front line provides the spark on the main theme to “get this party started” as my wife likes to say.  Stanley takes off first at a hard-swinging gallop.  Butch comes in next for a vigorous interpretation with both horns humming behind him.  Freddie brings an electrically charged dynamism to the third solo with compelling intensity.  George adds a bit of excitement to the final reading with some high-voltage licks.  Stanley punctuates the closing chorus with final phrases of white heat into an energetic fadeout.

The impeccable rhythm section of Ron Carter, Billy Kaye, and Richard “Pablo” Landrum is the power station behind each soloist, giving the album its depth.  The remastering of Rudy Van Gelder’s original recording by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman is exemplary.  The vinyl is quiet until the music starts, and the LP is a sonic treat for your ears with a spacious soundstage that’s stunning.  There’s something for everyone on Sugar by Stanley Turrentine.  It’s a Soul-Jazz buffet of his tenor sax, a swinging group, and an irresistible groove that’s sure to make it a favorite in any jazz library!

~ Bitches Brew (Columbia GP 26), In A Silent Way (Columbia CS 9875), Look Out (Blue Note BLP 4039/BST 84039) – Source: Discogs.com © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Duncan Lamont was born on July 4, 1931 in Greenock, Scotland and started out as a trumpet player, leading his own band in Scotland, which won recognition in Melody Maker in 1951. Spending time in London, England he played with Kenny Graham’s Afro-Cubists. During the early 1950s he continued to be active in Scotland and when he switched to tenor saxophone and became a jazz studio player.

He worked with numerous popular British dance bands and jazz groups led by Basil and Ivor Kirchin, Ken Mackintosh, Jack Parnell, Geraldo, Eric Delaney and Vic Lewis, with whom he toured the US. During the 1960s he played with Pat Smythe, Kenny Baker and freelanced extensively. Over the years Lamont led his own small bands and played in big bands and studio orchestras led by Kenny Wheeler, Gil Evans, Bobby Lamb and Raymond Premru, Nelson Riddle, Henry Mancini, Benny Carter and Bill Holman.

Lamont has accompanied on tour or studio orchestras with Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and Paul McCartney. He composed many songs that were  recorded by  Trudy Kerr, Nancy Marano, Cleo Laine, Joyce Breach and Norma Winstone. He wrote music for children’s television, was nominated for a Grammy, won the John Dankworth Jazz Award, and for more than a decade led a big band to raise money for cancer research. His activities as a composer have long been greatly respected by his professional peers and, at the start of the new century, are starting to receive the wider recognition they so richly deserve.

Tenor saxophonist Duncan Lamont, who gave masterclasses in improvisation and big band sessions at Brunel University, passed away on July 2, 2019 just two day shy of his 88th birthday.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Charles Sumner Kennedy was born on July 2, 1927 in Staten Island, New York.  He played with Louis Prima’s big band orchestra in the 1940s, earning himself a solo on that band’s 1943 recording of The White Cliffs of Dover. He put together his own band and after a brief stint as a leader, he joined Gene Krupa’s big band.

Over the course of his career, he also played with Terry Gibbs’s Dream Band, as well as Charlie Ventura, Flip Phillips, Chico O’Farrill, and Bill Holman. In addition to live performances and recordings with big-name bands, he also was a frequent studio musician. He played in the orchestras for popular movies including My Fair Lady and West Side Story.

By the 1970s, he gave up his career as a full-time musician in order to support his family, but continued to perform in clubs near his home in southern California. Alto saxophonist Charlie Kennedy, who was a big band-era musician, passed away of pulmonary disease on April 3, 2009 in Ventura, California at the age of 81.

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Social distancing and masking are still forefront in the pursuit of health and this time has given me a steady flow of opportunities to sit and listen to albums I played songs from during my tenure at WCLK. This is one of those times that I am rediscovering music that has fed my soul for years. This week I turn to a 1965 album whose title is so appropriate for these times, Lucky Strikes by tenor and soprano saxophonist Lucky Thompson.

Recorded on September 15, 1964 at the Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, it was released on the Prestige record label the following year. The album was produced by Don Schlitten, engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, and the liner notes were written by David A. Himmelstein.

This was his sixth studio recording and of the eight compositions on this date, six are originals by Thompson, and two songs selected by the saxophonist are In A Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington/Irving Mills, and the Bronisław Kaper composition Invitation.

Track Listing | 39:25

  1. In a Sentimental Mood ~ 5:49
  2. Fly With the Wind ~ 4:01
  3. Mid-Nite Oil ~ 5:08
  4. Reminiscent ~ 4:04
  5. Mumba Neua ~ 4:47
  6. I Forgot to Remember ~ 6:36
  7. Prey-Loot ~ 4:05
  8. Invitation ~ 4:55
Personnel 
  • Lucky Thompson – tenor, soprano saxophone
  • Hank Jones – piano
  • Richard Davis – bass
  • Connie Kay – drums

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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