Clark Terry

Clark Virgil Terry Jr December 14 1920 February 21 2015 was an American swing and bebop trumpeter a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz and a composer and educator He played with Charlie Barnet 1947 Count Basie 194851 Duke Ellington 195159 Quincy Jones 1960 and Oscar Peterson 196496 He was with The Tonight Show Band on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1972 His career in jazz spanned more than 70 years during which he became one of the most recorded jazz musicians appearing on over 900 recordings Terry also mentored Quincy Jones Miles Davis Herbie Hancock Wynton Marsalis Pat Metheny Dianne Reeves and Terri Lyne Carrington Terry was born to Clark Virgil Terry Sr and Mary Terry in St Louis Missouri on December 14 1920 He attended Vashon High School and began his professional career in the early 1940s playing in local clubs He served as a bandsman in the United States Navy during World War II His first instrument was valve trombone Blending the St Louis tone with contemporary styles Terrys years with Basie and Ellington who secretly recruited Terry away from Basie in the late 1940s and 1950s established his prominence During his period with Ellington he took part in many of the composers suites and acquired a reputation for his wide range of styles from swing to hard bop technical proficiency and good humor Terry influenced musicians including Miles Davis and Quincy Jones both of whom acknowledged Terrys influence during the early stages of their careers Terry had informally taught Davis while they were still in St Louis and Jones during Terrys frequent visits to Seattle with the Count Basie Sextet After leaving Ellington in 1959 Clarks international recognition soared when he accepted an offer from the National Broadcasting Company NBC to become a staff musician He appeared for ten years on The Tonight Show as a member of the Tonight Show Band until 1972 first led by Skitch Henderson and later by Doc Severinsen where his unique mumbling scat singing led to a hit with Mumbles9 Terry was the first African American to become a regular in a band on a major US television network He said later We had to be models because I knew we were in a test We couldnt have a speck on our trousers We couldnt have a wrinkle in the clothes We couldnt have a dirty shirt10 Terry continued to play with musicians such as trombonist J J Johnson and pianist Oscar Peterson and led a group with valvetrombonist Bob Brookmeyer that achieved some success in the early 1960s In February 1965 Brookmeyer and Terry appeared on BBC2s Jazz 625 and in 1967 presented by Norman Granz he was recorded at Poplar Town Hall in the BBC series Jazz at the Philharmonic alongside James Moody Dizzy Gillespie Coleman Hawkins Benny Carter Teddy Wilson Bob Cranshaw Louie Bellson and TBone Walker Source Article Clark Terry from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30