1973 · Album
Don’t Mess With Mister T.
Recorded June 1973 · CTI · Produced by Creed Taylor
Groove Deep: Turrentine's Funkiest Soul-Jazz Statement
Turrentine leans hard into soul and funk, backed by a band that swings with real weight.
Don't Mess With Mister T. announces itself immediately — bright, brassy, and immediately comfortable in its own skin. Stanley Turrentine's tenor sits front and center, warm and bluesy, while Eric Gale's guitar cuts sharp counterlines and Bob James and Harold Mabern trade off on electric piano, creating layers of color that feel both modern and deeply rooted in soul tradition. Ron Carter grounds everything with his solid double bass work, and the whole thing moves with a kind of unforced swagger that makes you lean in. This is Turrentine doing what he did best in the early seventies — ignoring the avant-garde arguments happening elsewhere in jazz and just playing something that feels good.
Recorded in June 1973 at Van Gelder Studio and arranged by James, the album sits squarely in the soul-jazz pocket that Turrentine had been mining for years. It's funkier than some of his earlier work, less exploratory than what the free-jazz crowd was pushing, but it knows exactly what it wants to be. The band — including Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, Jerry Dodgion on alto, Alan Raph on bass trombone, and Richard Tee on organ — moves with precision without ever sounding stiff. Producer Creed Taylor's hand is evident in the clean, spacious mix and the sharp focus on groove over complexity.
Allmusic reviewer Ron Wynn gave it 4½ stars, and that rating holds up because this album delivers exactly what it promises: straight-ahead, swinging soul-jazz with no apologies. It's not a deep cut in Turrentine's catalog — it's a solid, dependable record that works just as well now as it did on the turntables of 1973.
Who's playing
Ron Carterdouble bass
Alan Raphbass trombone
Bob Jameselectric piano
Harold Mabernelectric piano
Eric Galeelectric guitar
Pepper Adamsbaritone saxophone
Jerry Dodgionalto saxophone
Joe Farrelltenor saxophone
Stanley Turrentinetenor saxophone
Richard Teeorgan
Idris Muhammaddrums
Rubens Bassinipercussion
Seymour Barabcello
Randy Breckerflugelhorn
Harold Colettaviola
Harry Cykmanviolin
John Froskflugelhorn
Harry Glickmanviolin
Emanuel Greenviolin
Harold Kohonviolin
Guy Lumiaviolin
David Nadienviolin
John Pintavalleviolin
George Riccicello
Irving Spiceviolin
Emanuel Vardiviola
Where next?
More by Stanley Turrentine
All 64 albums →
The musicians on this record
One 1974
Bob James
plays electric piano here
plays electric piano here
Blues Farm 1973
Ron Carter
plays double bass here
plays double bass here
Power of Soul 1974
Idris Muhammad
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
Amanda 1985
Randy Brecker
plays flugelhorn here
plays flugelhorn here
