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Biography
Born in St. Louis, Clark Terry performed
with Charlie Barnet (1947) and in Count Basie's
big band and small groups (1948-51) before
beginning an important affiliation with Duke
Ellington, which lasted from 1951 to 1959. 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.
After leaving Ellington he became a frequent
performer in New York studios and a staff member
of NBC; he appeared regularly on the Tonight
Show, where his unique "mumbling"
scat singing became famous. He also continued to
play jazz with musicians such as J.J.
Johnson and Oscar Peterson, and led a group
with Bob Brookmeyer which achieved some popularity
in the early 1960s.
In the 1970s Terry began to concentrate
increasingly on the flugelhorn from which he
obtains a remarkably 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 as
the leader of his Big B-A-D Band (formed 1970).
His humor and command of jazz trumpet styles
are nowhere more apparent than in his
"dialogues" with himself, either on
different instruments or on the same instument,
muted and unmuted.
--J. BRADFORD ROBINSON, The
New Grove Dictionary of Jazz
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