DOBBIN’S DEN

By Len Dobbin

Posted Saturday, July 19, 1997

Contents

• Tommy Turrentine (1928-1997)
• Bob Burgess
• Ottawa International Jazz Festival
• This Week in Montreal
• DOBBIN’S DEN (on Radio)

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TOMMY TURRENTINE (1928-1997)

Trumpeter Tommy Turrentine died recently. Born Thomas Walter Turrentine Jr., in Pittsburgh, Pa. on April 22, 1928, his father Thomas was a tenor saxophonist who worked with Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans in the late 30s. Tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, born April 5, 1934, is Tommy's younger brother.

Tommy Turrentine began musical studies in Pittsburgh at the age of 12 and later left to travel with the bands of Snookum Russell in 1945, Benny Carter in 1946 and George Hudson from 1948 through 1950. He also was heard in the trumpet section of bands led by Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie. In the 50s he also worked in small groups led by Earl Bostic, Charles Mingus, Max Roach and Lou Donaldson. He recorded with Bostic, Roach and Donaldson as well as Jackie McLean, Sonny Clark, Horace Parlan, Buddy Rich, Paul Chambers, Booker Ervin, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Rufus Jones, Big John Patton, Philly Joe Jones, Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, and his brother Stanley. Very few of these recordings are currently available.

l can recommend his only date as a leader, Tommy Turrentine (Bainbridge), recorded in June of 1960, and Sonny Clark's Leapin' and Lopin’ (Blue Note), done in November of the following year. Tommy once named Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Dorham and Art Farmer as favourites. His playing was related in style to Gillespie and "Fats" Navarro. Mark Gardner referred to him as a "small toned but expressive trumpeter."

To the best of my knowledge, Tommy Turrentine only played Montreal once, at the Tête de l'Art, then located at 1451 Metcalfe. He opened on July 22, 1963 with a group under the leadership of drummer Philly Joe Jones. Larry Ridley was the bassist and Charles Greenlea was the trombonist. They were joined on July 24 by John Gilmore on tenor and pianist Ronnie Mathews. The music they made was memorable.

BOB BURGESS

One of the unsung veterans of the Montreal scene, reedman Bob Roby, informs me that trombonist Bobby Burgess recently died of cancer. Burgess, a fine big band musician, first came to my attention with the Stan Kenton band. He joined that band in June of 1952 when he replaced Bob Fitzpatrick. Burgess played the Seville Theatre with the band and did the 1953 European Tour with Kenton. He left the group after having been injured in an accident the band bus had on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on November 10, 1953. As Frank Rosalino was also in that trombone section, there are few examples of Burgess soloing with the band. He's heard on Prologue and solos on Collaboration and Bill Russo's arrangement of Over The Rainbow. The latter two are on 23 Degrees North, 82 Degrees West (Natasha Imports). Burgess also recorded with the big bands of Chet Baker, Maynard Ferguson, Terry Gibbs and Woody Herman.

OTTAWA lNTERNATlONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

The 1997 edition of the annual Ottawa International Jazz Festival opens on Friday, July 18 and runs through to Sunday, July 27. There are two nightly concert series in Confederation Park- The Great Canadian Series at 6:30 PM and the Concerts Under The Stars series at 8:30 PM. The Pianissimo Plus series is heard at the National Gallery of Canada at 4:30 PM and the Voices in the Night and With An Edge series take place at 10:30 PM on alternate nights in the Studio of the National Arts Centre, beginning with former Montreal vocalist Arlene Smith doing a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

Among the more interesting looking events are the following: In the Voices ln The Night series, there’s Clare Foster, a English singer now based in Toronto, who was a hit on the street during the recent Montreal festival. In the With An Edge series Gebhard Ullmann, a multi-talented reedman from Germany, performs with Basement Research, a group he recorded with for the Soul Note label. In the Concerts Under The Stars series, there are evenings with vocalist Marlena Shaw, pianist Jessica Williams, reedman Phil Woods, cornetist Warren Vach and trombonist John Fedchock's big band from New York. Among the more interesting Great Canadians are Doug Riley's quartet, Dave Turner with his Latin jazz sextet, and the quintet of Kelly Jefferson and Kelsley Grant. The piano series, as usual, is first-rate with appearances by John Bunch, Brad Mehldau, Kenny Werner, Larry Willis, Canadians James Gelfand and Brian Dickinson, and the duos of Lynne Arriale and Harvey Swartz [Editor’s note: This concert has been cancelled due to illnes. Pianist Hod O’Brien will fill in this spot on July 19.] and Michael Marcus and Jaki Byard. There’s certainly enough happening to warrant a trip to the nation's capital.

THIS WEEK IN MONTREAL

Bassist Alec Walkington’s quartet consisting of saxophonist Steve Kaldestad, trumpeter Bill Mahar and drummer Michel Lambert make Upstairs the place to check out on Friday and Saturday.

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