Sugar is the title track of Stanley Turrentine’s 1970 jazz album Sugar on CTI Records. The studio version, recorded in November 1970 at Van Gelder Studio and released on November 22, 1970, offers a groove-heavy, modal vibe that sits between jazz, soul jazz, and hard bop. The composition is by Turrentine and the track runs about 10 minutes on the original LP, featuring Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Lonnie Liston Smith on electric piano for the title track, George Benson on guitar, Ron Carter on bass, Billy Kaye on drums, with Butch Cornell on organ on the other tracks. The performance has a Miles Davis So What like feel with extended solos from Hubbard and Benson and a warm, lyrical Turrentine lead. A live version of Sugar was added to later CD reissues, recorded at the Hollywood Palladium in 1971 with Hubert Laws on flute, Billy Cobham on drums, Airto Moreira on percussion, and Johnny Smith on keyboards. Sugar helped establish Turrentine’s post Blue Note CTI sound and remains one of his best received works.
