“Lookout Salsoul Orchestra!,” wrote DownBeat in its one-and-a-half-star review of the 1976 album The Man with the Sad Face (March 10, 1977), “Stanley Turrentine’s comin’ ta getcha! Yes folks, this may well be the most distinguished cast that ever bothered to lend its class to trash, spelled c-a-s-h. (…) As dubious consolation it must be added that this production is as slick as a greased weasel; if anyone is capable of rendering more polished, technically proficient disco it could only be the Chicago Symphony—perish the thought—or possibly Mantovani.”
Such was the jazz world’s horrified response to this enjoyable and highly listenable take on disco-jazz, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine’s (1934-2000) fifth Fantasy effort, the oddly-titled The Man with the Sad Face. What’s odd about the title is that this particular musician was hardly ever seen without a huge smile beaming from his own handsome visage.
Recorded in New York City in August and September 1976, The Man with The Sad Face, showcases the soulful saxophonist outfitted in fancy, then fashionable disco duds. Is it his best? No. Is it worth hearing, though? Absolutely. A well-programmed mix of disco, R&B and soulful jazz, it is one of the least-known albums in Turrentine’s entire discography, but one that contains several savory nuggets.
Joining Turrentine here are Paul Griffin and John Miller on keyboards, Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree on guitar, Motown Funk Brother Bob Babbitt on electric bass and Charles Collins on drums. Ron Carter, like Turrentine, a former CTI All Star, brings his signature bass to two tracks (“The Man with the Sad Face,” “Ligia”), while Buster Williams helms the upright on “Whatever “Possess’d Me.” Drummer Idris Muhammad – who previously appeared on Turrentine’s 1973 CTI swan song Don’t Mess with Mister T. – turns up for the title track and “Whatever Possess’d Me.”
Veteran hit Motown arranger David Van De Pitte (1941-2009) provides the lush, though too-often out-front arrangements. But while “disco strings” were all the rage at the time – making the previous Salsoul Orchestra quip seem pretty spot on – this particular arranger had not previously (nor since) arranged for an instrumentalist, particularly one with the signature command of a Stanley Turrentine.
But Turrentine never let a little sugar – or, in this case, a bit too much – get in the way of delivering the goods. He remains engaged and engaging throughout.
Where the strings work best here is on the up-tempo numbers, such as the delectably danceable “Evil Ways” (propelled especially nicely by Gale’s percolating guitar and Babbitt’s funky bass), “I Want You” (a 1976 hit for Marvin Gaye, whose What’s Going On scored Van De Pitte a Grammy nomination), “Love Hangover” and a superb cover of The Mighty Clouds of Joy’s “Mighty High.” These also happen to rank among the album’s more memorable tracks. Both Turrentine and his arranger are perfectly in sync on these numbers.
Sadly, there are no originals here from either Stanley or brother Tommy (1928-97), who frequently contributed tunes to brother Stanley’s records (he is, however, in the horn section). But Stanley always had a way with a ballad and two rather unusual, though welcome, choices are heard, Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Ligia” (on which Carter, the bassist here, had recorded with the composer several months before) and Tadd Dameron’s little-known “Whatever Possess’d Me.”
The latter track originated on a little-known and ostentatiously-titled Chet Baker album from 1964, one that just so happens was produced by Richard Carpenter, Turrentine’s manager and business partner at the time of this recording. On these pieces, the strings tend to go a little over the top. They are not nearly as subtle as they ought to be and without the grace and finesse that Claus Ogerman would bring to Turrentine’s next two Fantasy records. Incidentally, Ogerman also arranged the previously-noted Jobim album Urubu (1976).
Released just in time for Christmas in November 1976, The Man With The Sad Face was Stanley Turrentine’s first solo production (his previous four Fantasy releases were co-productions, with either Gene and Billy Page or Orrin Keepnews).
Here, engineer Tony May provides Turrentine with a much warmer, and entirely more deserving environment than those previous Fantasy productions. May would also record such later Turrentine discs as Nightwings (1977), West Side Highway (1978), Inflation (1980) and Straight Ahead (1985).
The music-industry trade paper Billboard was positively enthusiastic about the record: “An all time virtuoso of the tenor saxophone, Turrentine here creates another shimmering assortment of soul-crossover powerhouse songs.” To be fair, people outside of the jazz world – especially then – were often far more ecumenical and openminded to new expressions of jazz. Billboard would go on to add that “[i]t’s impossible to get tired of Turrentine’s sax work. He truly plays the instrument with the expressiveness of a human singing voice.” Indeed.
Anyone who hears this record will agree. Nothing about Turrentine’s performance here is diminished or disintegrating into formula. This is a great player doing what he does best, talking in the language of the times. There aren’t too many admirable or winning albums of disco-fied jazz. But this must surely be one of them.
The Man With The Sad Face turned out to do surprisingly well, too. The album reached number 96 on the Billboard 200 (when The Eagles’ Hotel California was number one), number 32 on the Soul chart (when Stevie Wonder’s monumental Songs in the Key of Life was number one), and a remarkable number 3 on the Jazz chart (when George Benson’s landmark Breezin’ – soon to be displaced by Grover Washington, Jr.’s CTI/Kudu release A Secret Place – was number one).
An ill-advised single release of Turrentine’s take on “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” previously a million-selling number 2 hit for singer Lou Rawls, never showed up on any chart. (Turrentine was later a featured soloist on Rawls’ 1989 duet with Dianne Reeves, “At Last.”)
Amazingly, this album – like several other worthy albums the saxophonist waxed for Fantasy – has yet to show up on CD. While it’s unlikely we’ll ever see something as deserving as The Man with the Sad Face get its proper due, the disc’s “Evil Ways” and “Ligia” (both good choices) were included on the 1989 CD compilation The Best of Mr. T.
(Curiously, I have two copies of this record, and both skip at the exact same points: during each of the record sides’ two end songs: “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” and “Mighty Love.”)