Saxophonist Turrentine Shows Sensitive Side

There were two sides of Stanley Turrentine on view Wednesday at the Jazz Bakery as he opened a five-night stand.

The 62-year-old saxophonist’s first set featured his sensitive, uncharacteristically sophisticated way with standards and ballads. The second set found him playing with the same blues-hued, soulful inflection he brought to the bandstand some 30 years ago when working in organ trios with Jimmy Smith and Shirley Scott. Turrentine’s lusty sound hasn’t been tempered by time. But he has expanded his play with a broader sense of warmth and feeling.

The first set with a supporting quartet that featured pianist Kei Akagi and guitarist Henry Johnson put the emphasis on this warm style of play, one that came in lighter, airy tones and a considered, lyrical style. Always a graceful ballad player, Turrentine took the opportunity on slower-paced numbers to show he has a heart as well as a soul.

Even on the first set’s up-tempo numbers, including Billy Taylor’s bouncy “Easy Walker,” Turrentine played with a soft, inviting tone and a patient melodicism that ran counter to his blues-and-boogie reputation. Never a technically flashy player, the saxophonist chose his notes deliberately, delivering pure, uncluttered phrases that stirred more quiet emotions.

His treatment of “In a Sentimental Mood” was especially revealing, with its achingly slow climb through the song’s famous opening line. Only on the final number of the first set, Freddie Hubbard’s driving, Caribbean-styled “Gibralter,” did Turrentine cut loose with the expected soulful serenade.

More of his R&B-styled; play surfaced during the second set when he broke out his signature material, including “Don’t Mess With Mr. T” and “Sugar.” But even these down-and-dirty treatments were spelled with more thoughtful presentations of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and “Pieces of a Dream.”

Akagi’s involved, thoroughly modern improvisational ways and Johnson’s technically astute, unbridled style of play bracketed the saxophonist’s own solos with inviting contrast. Drummer Cecil Brooks III and bassist Jeffrey Littleton provided both groove and sympathetic ballad support as called for.

Still, the biggest impression left by Turrentine’s opening-night performance was that he is more than a soul-fired, blues-happy tenor player. The burly saxophonist has a sensitive side as well.

* The Stanley Turrentine Quintet plays the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., (310) 271-9039, tonight and Saturday, 8 and 10:30 p.m., and Sunday 4 and 8 p.m. Admission to all shows $20 except Sunday matinee, $17.