r.i.p. Ted Curson
Trumpeter Ted Curson, best known for his stint in the band of Charles Mingus circa 1960, died today. He was 77.
Born in Philadelphia and educated at that city’s Granoff Musical Conservatory, Curson moved to New York in the mid-1950s and recorded a few years later with Cecil Taylor. He appears with Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Bud Powell and Dannie Richmond, on the record Mingus At Antibes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-ZHWXXEr98w
As a leader, Curson recorded 16 discs between 1960 and 1980, but only two discs after that, according to the discography that is part of his Wikipedia entry. I recall that in the mid-1980s I heard one of his late 1970s discs — perhaps it was Ted Curson and Company? — and I was knocked out by it, in part because the rhythm section of pianist Jim McNeely, bassist Cecil McBee and especially drummer Steve McCall made a big impression. Here’s another recording from that period:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9TauSKwtiA0
Fast forward more than 30 years. Here’s Curson, who was based in Montclair, N.J., playing Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s Serenade To A Cuckoo with some Finnish musicians in the summer of 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Gm_gh4QWJgU
This Finnish article states that Curson, who died of a heart attack, was a regular who performed each year at the Pori Jazz Festival, which has been in existence since 1966. Google-translated, the article says that Curson, an extrovert, made friends easily, including heads of state — Finland’s president once visited Curson at his home while on a trip to the United Nations in New York. Curson was given a key to the city of Pori in 1998. “Pori loved him,” the article notes.
Here’s Curson playing at the 2012 Pori Jazz Festival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1JL14OVburg
Rest in peace, Ted Curson.
Quelle: http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2012/11/04/rip-ted-curson/
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