Clark Terry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Clark Terry | |
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 Clark Terry in New York City, 1976
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| Background information | |
| Born | December 14, 1920 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | Swing, bop, jazz |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Trumpet, fluegelhorn |
| Years active | 1947–present |
Clark Terry (born December 14, 1920)[1] is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, and NEA Jazz Masters inductee.
He has played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948 to 1951),[1] Duke Ellington (1951 to 1959),[1] and Quincy Jones (1960). He has also performed and recorded regularly both as a leader and sideman. In all, his career in jazz spans more than sixty years.
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[edit] Life and career
Terry was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Vashon High School there and began his professional career in the early 1940s by playing in local clubs before joining a Navy band during World War II.
His years with Basie and Ellington in the late 1940s and 1950s established him as a world-class jazz artist. Blending the St. Louis tone of his youth with contemporary styles, Terry’s sound influenced a generation. During this period, Terry took part in many of Ellington's suites and acquired a lasting reputation for his wide range of styles (from swing to hard bop), technical proficiency, and infectious good humor. In addition to his outstanding musical contribution to these bands, Terry exerted a positive influence on musicians such as Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, both of whom credit Clark as a formidable influence during the early stages of their careers. (Terry had informally taught Davis while they were still in St Louis.)
After leaving Ellington, Clark's international recognition soared when he accepted an offer from the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) to become its first African-American staff musician. He appeared regularly for ten years on The Tonight Show as a regular member of the Tonight Show Band led first by Skitch Henderson, then by Doc Severinsen, where his unique "mumbling" scat singing became famous when he scored a hit as a singer with "Mumbles."
He also continued to play with musicians such as J. J. Johnson and Oscar Peterson,[2] and led a group with Bob Brookmeyer that achieved some popularity in the early 1960s. In the 1970s, Terry began to concentrate increasingly on the flugelhorn, from which he obtains a full, ringing tone. In addition to his studio work and teaching at jazz workshops, Terry toured regularly in the 1980s with small groups (including Peterson's) and performed as the leader of his Big B-A-D Band (formed c. 1970). After financial difficulties forced him to break up BBB, he performed with big bands like the Unifour Jazz Ensemble and others. His humor and command of jazz trumpet styles are apparent in his "dialogues" with himself, either on different instruments or on the same instrument, muted and unmuted; he has also been known to perform solos on a trumpet or flugelhorn mouthpiece.
From the 1970s through the 1990s, Clark performed at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and Lincoln Center, toured with the Newport Jazz All Stars and Jazz at the Philharmonic, and he was featured with Skitch Henderson's New York Pops Orchestra.
Prompted early in his career by Dr. Billy Taylor, Clark and Milt Hinton bought instruments for and gave instruction to young hopefuls which planted the seed that became Jazz Mobile in Harlem. This venture tugged at Clark's greatest love - involving youth in the perpetuation of Jazz. Between global performances, Clark continues to share wholeheartedly his jazz expertise and encourage students. Since 2000, he has hosted Clark Terry Jazz Festivals on land and sea, held his own jazz camps, and appeared in more than fifty jazz festivals on six continents.
His career as both leader and sideman with more than three hundred recordings demonstrates that he is one of the most prolific luminaries in jazz. Clark composed more than two hundred jazz songs and performed for seven U.S. Presidents.
He also has several recordings with major groups including The London Symphony Orchestra, The Dutch Metropole Orchestra, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Hundreds of high school and college ensembles, his own duos, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, octets, and two big bands; Clark Terry's Big Bad Band and Clark Terry's Young Titans of Jazz. The Clark Terry Archive at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, contains instruments, tour posters, awards, original copies of over 70 big band arrangements, recordings and other memorabilia.
Terry was a long-time resident of Corona, Queens, New York.[3]
[edit] Awards and honors
- Over 250 awards, medals and honors, including:
- The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award in 1991
- A Grammy Award, two Grammy certificates, three Grammy nominations
- Sixteen honorary doctorates
- Keys to several cities
- Jazz Ambassador for U.S. State Department tours in the Middle East and Africa
- A knighthood in Germany
- The French Order of Arts and Letters, 2000
- A life-sized wax figure for the Black World History Museum in St. Louis
- Inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame (1996)[4]
- NARAS Present's Merit Award (2005)
- Trumpeter of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association (2005)
[edit] Bibliography
- Let's Talk Trumpet: From Legit to Jazz
- Interpretation of the Jazz Language
- Clark Terry's System of Circular Breathing for Woodwind and Brass Instruments
- TerryTunes, anthology of 60 original compositions (1st ed., 1972; 2nd ed. w/doodle-tonguing chapter, 2009)
- Ellington, Duke. “Clark Terry,” chapter in Music is My Mistress (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1973): 229-230.
- “Clark Terry – Jazz Ambassador: C.T.’s Diary” [cover portrait] Jazz Journal International 31 (May 6, 1978): 7-8.
- Beach, Doug. “Clark Terry and the St. Louis Trumpet Sound,” Instrumentalist 45 (April 1991): 8-12.
- Bernotas, Bob. “Clark Terry,” Jazz Player 1 (October-November 1994): 12-19.
- LaBarbera, John. “Clark Terry: More Than ‘Mumbles’,” ITG Journal [International Trumpet Guild] 19, No. 2 (1994): 36-41.
- Blumenthal, Bob. “Reflections on a Brilliant Career” [reprint of Jazz Times 25, No. 8], Jazz Educators Journal 29, No. 4 (1997): 30-33, 36-37.
- Morgenstern, Dan. “Clark Terry” in Living With Jazz: A Reader (New York: Pantheon, 2004): 196-201. [Reprint of Down Beat 34 (June 1, 1967): 16-18.
- Owens, Thomas. “Trumpeters: Clark Terry” in Bebop: The Music and the Players (New York: Oxford, 1995): 111-113.
- “Jazz for the Record”[Clark Terry Archive at William Paterson University], New York Times (December 11, 2004).
[edit] Discography
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[edit] As leader
- Clark Terry with Quentin Jackson/Martial Solal/Kenny Clarke (Disques Swing, 1955)
- Introducing Clark Terry (EmArcy, 1955)
- Serenade to a Bus Seat (Riverside/OJC, 1957)
- Duke with a Difference (Riverside/OJC, 1957)
- In Orbit (with Thelonious Monk, Riverside/OJC, 1958)
- Out on a Limb with Clark Terry (Argo, 1958)
- Top and Bottom Brass feat. Don Butterfield (Riverside/OJC, 1959)
- Paris (Swing, 1960)
- Color Changes (Candid, 1960)
- Everything's Mellow (Prestige, 1961)
- Mellow Moods (Prestige, 1961)
- All American (Prestige, 1962)
- Plays the Jazz Version of "All American" (Moodsville, 1962)
- The Night Life (Mood, 1962)
- Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer (Verve, 1962)
- More (Cameo, 1963)
- Tread Ye Lightly (Cameo, 1963)
- What Makes Sammy Swing (20th Century, 1963)
- The Happy Horns of Clark Terry (Impulse!, 1964)
- The Power of Positive Swinging (Mainstream, 1964)
- Live 1964 (Emerald, 1964)
- Quintet (Mainstream, 1964)
- Tonight (Mainstream, 1964)
- Clark Terry Tonight (Mainstream, 1964)
- Oscar Peterson Trio Plus One Clark Terry (Mercury, 1964)
- Spanish Rice (Impulse!, 1966)
- Gingerbread Men (Mainstream, 1966)
- Mumbles (Mainstream, 1966)
- Angyumaluma Bongliddleany Nannyany Awhan Yi! (Mainstream, 1966)
- It's What's Happenin' (Impulse!, 1967)
- Music in the Garden (Jazz Heritage, 1968)
- At the Montreux Jazz Festival (Polydor, 1969)
- Live on 57th Street (Big Bear, 1969)
- Big B-A-D Band In Concert, Live 1970... (EToile, 1970)
- Live at the Wichita Jazz Festival (Vanguard, 1974)
- Clark Terry and His Jolly Giants (Vanguard, 1975)
- Live at the Wichita Jazz Festival (Vanguard, 1975)
- Oscar Peterson and Clark Terry (Pablo, 1975)
- Clark Terry's Big B-A-D Band Live at Buddy's... (Vanguard, 1976)
- Live at the Jazz House (Pausa, 1976)
- Wham (BASF, 1976)
- Squeeze Me (Chiaroscuro, 1976)
- The Globetrotter (Vanguard, 1977)
- Out of Nowhere (Bingow, 1978)
- Brahms Lullabye (Amplitude, 1978)
- Funk Dumplin's (Matrix, 1978)
- Clark After Dark (MPS, 1978)
- Mother______! Mother______! (Pablo, 1979)
- Ain't Misbehavin' (Pablo, 1979)
- Live in Chicago, Vol. 1 (Monad, 1979)
- Live in Chicago, Vol. 2 (Monad, 1979)
- The Trumpet Summit Meets the Oscar Peterson Big 4 (1980)
- Memories of Duke (Pablo/OJC, 1980)
- Yes, the Blues (Pablo/OJC, 1981)
- Jazz at the Philharmonic - Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo 1983: Return to Happiness (1983)
- To Duke and Basie (Rhino, 1986)
- Jive at Five (Enja, 1986)
- Metropole Orchestra (Mons, 1988)
- Portraits (Chesky, 1988) - with Don Friedman (p), Victor Gaskin (b) Lewis Nash (d)
- The Clark Terry Spacemen (Chiaroscuro, 1989)
- Locksmith Blues (Concord Jazz, 1989)
- Having Fun (Delos, 1990)
- Live at the Village Gate (Chesky, 1990)
- Live at the Village Gate: Second Set (Chesky, 1990)
- What a Wonderful World: For Lou (Red Baron, 1993)
- Shades of Blues (Challenge, 1994)
- Remember the Time (Mons, 1994)
- With Pee Wee Claybrook & Swing Fever (D' Note, 1995)
- Top and Bottom Brass'[' (Chiaroscuro, 1995)
- Reunion (D'Note, 1995)
- Express (Reference, 1995)
- Good Things in Life (Mons, 1996)
- Ow (E.J.s) 1996)
- The Alternate Blues (Analogue, 1996)
- Ritter der Ronneburg, 1998 (Mons, 1998)
- Living Worship Let's Worship (Newport, 1999)
- One on One (Chesky, 2000)
- A Jazz Symphony (Centaur, 2000)
- Herr Ober: Live at Birdland Neuburg (Nagel-Heyer, 2001)
- Live on QE2 (Chiaroscuro, 2001)
- Jazz Matinee (Hanssler, 2001)
- The Hymn (Candid, 2001)
- Clark Terry and His Orchestra Featuring Paul Gonsalves [1959] (Storyville, 2002)
- Live in Concert (Image, 2002)
- Flutin' and Fluglin (Past Perfect, 2002)
- Friendship (Columbia, 2002)
- Live! At Buddy's Place (Universe, 2003)
- Live at Montmarte June 1975 (Storyville, 2003)
- George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess (A440 Music Group, 2004)
- Live at Marian's with the Terry's Young Titan's of Jazz (Chiaroscuro, 2005)
[edit] As sideman
With Cecil Taylor
- New York City R&B (1961)
With the DePaul University Big Band, Bob Lark-director
- The Chicago Sessions 1995-96 (2007, RR-111 Reference Recordings)
With Duke Ellington
- Ellington at Newport (1958)
With Sonny Rollins
- Brass & Trio (1958)
WIth Tadd Dameron
- The Magic Touch (1962)
WIth Dave Grusin
- Homage To Duke (1993)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Yanow, Scott Clark Terry biography at allmusic
- ^ Oscar Peterson and Clark Terry at Allmusic
- ^ Berman, Eleanor. "The jazz of Queens encompasses music royalty", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 1, 2006. Accessed October 1, 2009. "When the trolley tour proceeds, Mr. Knight points out the nearby Dorie Miller Houses, a co-op apartment complex in Corona where Clark Terry and Cannonball and Nat Adderley lived and where saxophonist Jimmy Heath still resides."
- ^ St. Louis Walk of Fame
[edit] External links
- Performance images - live at Jazz Alley, Seattle
- Verve Records
- Allmusic
- "Profile: Clark Terry" by Arnold Jay Smith (www.jazz.com)
- Clark Terry's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
