Malcom Bruce Turner (5 July 1922 – 28 November 1993) was an English jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

Biography

Born in

Saltburn-by-the-Sea Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in the civil parish of Saltburn, Marske and New Marske, in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority, in North Yorkshire, England. It is south-east of Hartlepool and so ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England, and educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, he learned to play the clarinet as a schoolboy and began playing alto saxophone while serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He played with Freddy Randall from 1948–53 and worked on the '' Queen Mary'' in a dance band and in a quartet with

Dill Jones Dillwyn Owen Paton "Dill" Jones (19 August 1923 – 22 June 1984), was a Welsh jazz stride pianist. Biography Dill Jones was born in Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire, Wales, on 19 August 1923. He was brought up in Talgarth and Llandovery, wit ...

and

Peter Ind Peter Ind (20 July 1928 – 20 August 2021) was a British jazz double bassist and record producer. Early life Ind was born in Middlesex. His father was a builder. Ind began to learn the violin at the age of eight and played in his school orches ...

. He briefly studied under

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

in New York City in 1950. His first period with

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

ran from 1953 to 1957 but began inauspiciously. At a concert performed in Birmingham's Town Hall, Lyttelton's more literal traditionalist fans displayed a banner instructing "Go Home Dirty Bopper!" After leaving Lyttelton he led his Jump Band from 1957–65, which was featured in the 1961 film, ''Living Jazz''. Turner arranged the music for this film. On 16 and 17 February 1961, Turner and his band recorded the album ''Jumpin' at the NFT'' (National Film Theatre) which was issued later that year on

Doug Dobell Douglas Arthur Dobell (1917 – 10 July 1987) was a British record store proprietor and record producer who ran Dobell's Record Shop in Charing Cross Road, London, and 77 Records. He was involved in developing, recording and marketing jazz, blue ...

's 77 Records label to coincide with the film's release. In January 1963, the British music magazine ''New Musical Express'' (''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'') reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

. The event included

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973, he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

Diz Disley William Charles "Diz" Disley (27 May 1931 – 22 March 2010) was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and banjoist. He is best known for his acoustic jazz guitar playing, strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt, for his contributions to the UK trad ...

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was an English clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistco ...

Chris Barber Donald Christopher Barber (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and Trombone, trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur ...

Kenny Ball Kenneth Daniel Ball (22 May 1930Larkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music''. (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), p. 29; ) – 7 March 2013) was an English jazz musician, best known as the bandleader, lead trumpet player and vocalist in Kenny Ball and ...

Ken Colyer Kenneth Colyer (18 April 1928 – 8 March 1988) was an English jazz trumpeter and cornetist, devoted to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes. Biography He was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, but grew up ...

Monty Sunshine Monty Sunshine (9 April 1928 – 30 November 2010) was an English jazz clarinettist, who is known for his clarinet solo on the track "Petite Fleur", a million seller for the Chris Barber Jazz Band in 1959. During his career, Sunshine worked w ...

Bob Wallis Robert Wallis (3 June 1934 – 10 January 1991) was a British jazz musician, who had a handful of chart success in the early 1960s, during the UK traditional jazz boom. Biography Wallis was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire. At an e ...

Alex Welsh Alex Welsh (9 July 1929 – 25 June 1982) was a Scottish jazz musician who played cornet and trumpet and was also a bandleader and singer, Biography Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage Leith Silver Band and wi ...

Mick Mulligan Peter Sidney "Mick" Mulligan (24 January 1928 – 20 December 2006) was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his presence on the trad jazz scene. Biography He was born in Harrow, Middlesex, England. Mulligan began playing ...

and Turner. He returned to Randall's group from 1964 to 1966, and played with

Don Byas Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also l ...

(1966) and

(1966–70). He continued to work with Lyttelton and Ind in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, and he played with the Jump Band intermittently; he also worked with

Wally Fawkes Walter Ernest Fawkes (; 21 June 1924 – 1 March 2023), also known as Trog when signing cartoons, was a Canadian-British jazz clarinettist and satirical cartoonist. After emigrating with his family to Britain from Canada when he was 7 years ...

John Chilton John James Chilton (16 July 1932 – 25 February 2016) was a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s, he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts. He won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in ...

, Stan Greig (1975–76),

, and Dave Green. He led small ensembles in the 1990s until his death in 1993 in

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...

. He was noted for his quiet voice. Humphrey Lyttelton claimed that on a clear day it could be heard two inches away. His eccentricities included speaking a private language in which everybody, regardless of age or gender, was called "Dad", he repeated phrases, and he used outdated slang such as "Some fun, I'd say!" from comics of the 1930s. Turner's autobiography ''Hot Air, Cool Music'', published by Quartet Books, appeared in 1984. He wrote a column on jazz for the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. Publication began in 1924. It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the Communist Party USA (CPU ...

''.

Discography

As leader

* 1961 ''Jumpin' at the NFT'' ( 77 Records) * 1963 ''Going Places'' ( Philips BL7590) * 1985 ''The Dirty Bopper'' * 2001 ''Jumpin' for Joy'' * 2012 ''Accent on Swing''

As sideman or guest

With

Wild Bill Davison William Edward Davison (January 5, 1906 – November 14, 1989), nicknamed "Wild Bill", was an American jazz cornetist. He emerged in the 1920s through his work playing alongside Muggsy Spanier and Frank Teschemacher in a cover band where they ...

* 1965 ''With Freddy Randall and His Band'' * 1975 ''Wild Bill Davison with Ted Easton and his Jazzfriends'' * 1986 ''Lady of the Evening'' * 1998 ''Struttin' with Some Barbecue'' * 1999 ''Swinging Wild'' With

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...

* 1965 ''The Ballad of John Axon'' * 1966 ''Singing the Fishing'' * 1968 ''The Travelling People'' with Charles Parker, Peggy Seeger * 1999 ''The Song of a Road'' with Charles Parker, Peggy Seeger With others * 1955 ''The 1955 London Sessions'',

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 19 ...

* 1974 ''Swinging Scorpio'',

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All Ab ...

* 1983 ''It Seems Like Yesterday'',

* 1987 ''Before My Time'',

Lol Coxhill George Lowen Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 10 July 2012) known professionally as Lol Coxhill, was an English free improvisation, free improvising saxophonist. He played soprano saxophone, soprano and sopranino saxophone, sopranino saxopho ...

* 1989 ''There's Yes! Yes! In Your Eyes'', Patrick Halcox * 1992 ''Last of the Blues Shouters'', Big Miller & the Blues Machine * 1993 ''More Than Pye in the Sky'',

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought ...

References

*Cooper/Kernfeld, "Bruce Turner". '' Grove Jazz'' online.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Bruce 1922 births 1993 deaths English jazz bandleaders English jazz clarinetists English jazz saxophonists English male saxophonists People educated at Dulwich College People from Newport Pagnell Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century English saxophonists 20th-century English male musicians English male jazz musicians Black Lion Records artists