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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZCURSON, Ted(b 6 March 1935, Philadelphia PA; d 4 November 2012) Trumpet, flugelhorn. Worked in NYC with Mal Waldron, Cecil Taylor, others; with Charles Mingus '59-60. Quartet date of 20 October 1960 with Eric Dolphy, Dannie Richmond included 'Folk Forms No. 1': Dolphy and Curson, both soon to leave Mingus, carried on an impassioned conversation full of swinging tension while Mingus and Richmond lay out; one of the great moments in post-bop jazz. He thence worked mostly in Europe where he was a star of concerts, clubs, festivals, film and TV, also with visiting countrymen. He was the first foreign musician to be awarded a grant by the Finnish government '73. Many own albums included Plays Fire Down Below '62 on Prestige, Plenty Of Horn '62 on Old Town (later on Boplicity), Tears For Dolphy '64 on Arista/Black Lion; The New Thing, The Blue Thing '65 on Atlantic; Ted Curson And Gustav Brom Orchestra '65 on Supraphon (two arrrrangements with big band, two quartet tracks with Miroslav Vitous); quartet session with Booker Ervin '66 on Fontana; Ode To Booker Ervin '70 with Finnish sidemen on EMI/Columbia; Ted Curson And Co. '76 on India Navigation; Jubilant Power '76 on Inner City; albums on Interplay: quintet Blowin' Away '78, The Trio '79, septet I Heard Mingus '80; octet Snake Johnson c.1980 on Chiaroscuro. Later albums included big band 'Round Midnight on Trend, quintet Cattin' Curson on EPM. A long absence from recording was broken by quintet-plus-friends Traveling On '96 on Evidence. |