Producer's Note
I did not produce Track 4. It was not a “Master” recording,
and was NEVER INTENDED to be released as such. I consider its inclusion
a travesty. I suggest programming this track out of your playback system.
– Creed
Taylor
Excerpt from Gene Lees’ JazzLetter
“In 1971 I started to
record for Creed Taylor at CTI.”
That association began at a dark time in Stanley’s life. He and
[his wife] Shirley had been divorced. He was facing some financial reverses.
And he had no record contract. One day the phone rang. A man’s voice
said that this was Creed Taylor. He wanted to know whether Stanley might
be interested in recording for his label, CTI. With an inner sigh, Stanley
said yes, and Creed asked if Stanley could come to his office next day
for a meeting.
I checked with Creed about that first encounter. Creed said he was nervous
about meeting Stanley, assuming, as we all are prone to do, that the music
reflected the personality of the man. Creed had been listening a lot to
the Blue Note records. Creed said:
“He’s completely
individual. It’s the voice of Stanley Turrentine, and nobody could
imitate the aggressive melodic magnificence of Stanley’s playing.
I love it. And I loved the stuff he’d done with Jimmy Smith and
Shirley. He’s such a powerful voice on the instrument, and I anticipated
that the personality to follow would be: Look out! He’s the antithesis,
for example, of Paul Desmond. Stanley was not at all what I anticipated.”
They were in the Van Gelder
studio in Englewood Cliffs the following week, beginning a relationship
that both men remember with warmth – a highly successful relationship.
“We made a record called
Sugar and it was a hit,” Stanley said. “'Sugar,' the title
track, was his tune. I’ve had a band ever since.
“Creed was a wonderful
producer, a great producer. I think he set a precedent for the music.
Even the packaging. His covers were works of art. As a matter of fact,
the covers sold as art. Packaging had never been done like that. And he
had a CTI sound.
“And look at the people
he had in that stable during the time I was there: Herbie Hancock, George
Benson, Grover Washington, Freddie Hubbard, Jack De Johnette, Ron Carter,
Billy Cobham, Hank Crawford, Esther Phillips, Milton Nascimento, Airto,
Deodato. Oh man, it was just tremendous.
“I’d go into the
studio sometimes, and record. No strings or anything. I’d go on
the road and he’d hire Don Sebesky or somebody to add the strings.
Or Chico O’Farrill to put brass arrangements behind it. Or Thad
Jones. A lot of people got a little antsy about him doing that. I figured
it helped me. It enhanced the records. I made a lot of albums for him.
Maybe seven or eight. He was a music guy. There are no more cats out there
like that. He loved the music. He loved the guys he was interested in.
He heard them and tried to enhance what they were doing. He had such great
taste. And we were all on that label at the same time.”
–
Gene Lees’ JazzLetter
|
Turrentine
Creed and Stanley
Stanley and Freddie
Photos
by Chuck Stewart |
to hear sound samples.