Do You Have Any Sugar
The title of tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine'sDo You Have Any Sugar?refers to Turrentine's now-classic composition from the 1970s, as well as to his justly famous sweet tone. But unfortunately for straightahead jazz fans, it could also refer to the overly saccharine-sweet nature of the album, much of which is awash in layers of synthesizers and satiny-smooth vocalizing that may delight smooth-jazz fans at the expense of Turrentine's more traditional jazz audience. Turrentine himself is in good form, his playing warmly full-bodied and intensely lyrical, and his sidemen are topnotch. BassistRay Brown, pianistJoe Sample, and drummer Harvey Mason (the drummer onHerbie Hancock's famedHead Hunters) are heard to great effect on "Back in the Day," "2 RBs," and "Far Too Little Love" (a rewrite ofDuke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" that is somewhat questionably credited here to producer Steven Boyd and Chuck Hoover). But the rest of the tracks, with their ever-present banks of creamy synthesizer tones and pop-R&B; vocalizing from Niki Haris, push the album more toward a smooth-jazz audience.--Ezra Gale