Thomas Walter Turrentine Jr. was born on April 22, 1928, and died on May 13, 1997. He was a trumpeter and composer who played music in the swing and hard bop styles from the 1940s to the 1960s. He did not often lead bands, but he was well known for working as a supporting musician with drummer Max Roach and his younger brother, saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.
Biography
Tommy Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played music with famous artists such as Benny Carter, Earl Bostic, Charles Mingus, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie. Later, he recorded music with Sonny Clark, Lou Donaldson, and his brother Stanley's groups. His work with Max Roach began when he joined the Max Roach Quintet in the late 1950s. Turrentine was skilled at playing the piano and used chord techniques similar to those of Thelonious Monk. His bebop compositions blended complex and emotional music, with styles that reminded listeners of Benny Golson and the passionate playing of the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet.
While his brother Stanley had a long and successful career, recording many albums, Tommy only released one album under his own name before retiring in the 1960s. In the 1970s, he lived on the first floor of a brownstone with his wife, Jane, on West 82nd Street in New York City. At that time, many famous jazz musicians, including Tommy Flanagan and Pharoah Sanders, also lived nearby.
Tommy Turrentine was not active in music after the 1970s. In the summer of 1979, he performed with other famous trumpet players, such as Jon Faddis, at the Village Gate for a special event honoring Blue Mitchell, who had died earlier that year. He also played on the 1989 album Blue Delight by keyboardist Sun Ra.
Tommy Turrentine passed away from cancer at the age of 69.
Discography
- 1960: Tommy Turrentine (Time Records, 1960) – with Stanley Turrentine, trombonist Julian Priester, pianist Horace Parlan, bassist Bob Boswell, and drummer Max Roach
With Ahmed Abdul-Malik
With Philly Joe Jones
With Stanley Turrentine