Bob Stanley

Paul Stanley's 1978 solo album was the most Kiss-like of the four, sounding more like an official band release rather than a solo outing…

These nine ballads were recorded by Stanley Turrentine between 1962 and 1969. Apart from being a genuinely wonderful set of romantic tunes, Music for Lovers showcases a soft side of the great tenor's playing. Turrentine is one of the quintessential soul-jazz saxophonists. His Blue Note recordings from the 1960s with Shirley Scott are generally the works cited, but there is so much other material on offer that a small collection like this is welcome. A pair of ballads with Scott on organ are here, representing that darker groove aspect, but so are tunes with pianists like Sonny Clark, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Horace Parlan, and Cedar Walton…

Stanley Turrentine is generally pegged as a soul-jazz man but also has proven quite adept in several other styles of modern jazz, as heard on this diverse compilation of tunes from three initially unreleased Blue Note dates with a larger ensemble. While hitting up a handful of the pop tunes of the day, Turrentine shows he is interested in and capable of tackling more modern compositions, with the vibrant and exciting assistance of pianist McCoy Tyner, also not a slouch when soul-jazz is placed in front of him. That Turrentine plays a most enjoyable fluid, tuneful, and tonic tenor saxophone has never been questioned, but what he adds in value as a leader on these tracks further cements his estimable reputation…

Cherry is one of those early CTI albums that offers the listener the best of both the past and the future of jazz music in the early 1970s. Stanley Turrentine's husky tenor is a perfect match for Milt Jackson's soulful vibes, and when Bob James' masterful work on the Fender Rhodes is thrown into the mix we get a heady blend of soul-jazz, hard bop and the burgeoning funk-jazz sound all wrapped into one cohesive and very enjoyable record…