Curtis Counce (January 23, 1926 – July 31, 1963)
was an American
hard bop
Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...
and
West Coast jazz double bassist.
Biography
Counce was born in Kansas City, Missouri and moved to California in 1945. He began recording in 1946 with Lester Young, and in the 1950s in Los Angeles with musicians such as
Shorty Rogers,
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...
,
Shelly Manne
Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, ...
,
Lyle Murphy,
Teddy Charles, and
Clifford Brown
Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...
.
Counce formed his quintet in 1956 featuring tenor saxophonist
Harold Land
Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Clifford ...
, trumpeter
Jack Sheldon
Beryl Cyril "Jack" Sheldon Jr. (November 30, 1931 – December 27, 2019) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He performed on ''The Merv Griffin Show'' and participated in episodes of the educational music television series ''Scho ...
, pianist
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
and drummer
Frank Butler.
Elmo Hope replaced Perkins after his death at age 29 in 1958.
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...
replaced Sheldon on some recordings.
The four albums originally released on
Contemporary Records
Contemporary Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Lester Koenig in Los Angeles in 1951. Contemporary produced music from a variety of jazz styles and players.
West Coast players
Contemporary became identified with a style of ja ...
were reissued in 2006 on a double CD by Gambit Spain. Counce died in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack.
He was survived by his wife, Mildred Counce, his daughter, Celeste Counce, and a son. Counce's son, born April 10, 1961, was placed for adoption by his biological mother. Curtis knew of his son, but due to his life circumstances, Counce could not be a part of his life. Curtis's son died on January 23, 2022.
Discography
As leader
* ''
The Curtis Counce Group'' (
Contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...
, 1957)
* ''
You Get More Bounce with Curtis Counce!'' (Contemporary, 1957)
* ''
Exploring the Future'' (Dootone, 1958)
* ''
Carl's Blues'' (Contemporary, 1960)
* ''
Sonority'' (Contemporary, 1989)
As sideman
With
Maynard Ferguson
Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...
* ''
Dimensions'' (
EmArcy, 1955)
* ''
Maynard Ferguson's Hollywood Party'' (EmArcy, 1954)
* ''Stratospheric'' (
Mercury, 1976)
With
Herb Geller
* ''Herb Geller Plays'' (EmArcy, 1954)
* ''Jazz Studio 2 from Hollywood'' (
Decca
Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label
* Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...
, 1954)
* ''Jazz Studio 2 from Hollywood Part II'' (
Brunswick, 1954)
With
Shorty Rogers
* ''
Cool and Crazy'' (
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
, 1953)
* ''
Shorty Rogers Courts the Count'' (RCA Victor, 1954)
* ''
The Swinging Mr. Rogers'' (
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
, 1955)
* ''
Collaboration
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...
'' (RCA Victor, 1955)
* ''
Shorty Rogers and His Giants'' (RCA Victor, 1956)
* ''The Big Shorty Rogers Express'' (RCA Victor, 1956)
* ''
Way Up There'' (Atlantic, 1957)
* ''
Martians Stay Home'' (Atlantic, 1980)
With others
*
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool".
Baker earned much attention and ...
&
Art Pepper
Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American jazz musician, most known as an alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet (his first instrument) and bass clarinet. Active ...
, ''
Playboys'' (
World Pacific, 1957)
*
Clifford Brown
Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...
, ''
Clifford Brown All Stars'' (EmArcy, 1956)
*
Teddy Charles, ''
Collaboration West'' (
Prestige
Prestige may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
*Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband
*The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...
, 1956)
* Teddy Charles, ''
Evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
'' (Prestige, 1957)
*
Buddy Collette &
Chico Hamilton
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, f ...
, ''
Tanganyika'' (Dig, 1956)
*
Maxwell Davis
Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arrangement, arranger, bandleader and record producer.
Biography
Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, h ...
, ''Compositions of Duke Ellington and Others'' (
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
, 1960)
*
Buddy DeFranco
Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s.
...
, ''Generalissimo'' (
Verve, 1958)
*
Herbie Fields, ''Blow Hot Blow Cool'' (Decca, 1955)
*
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...
, ''
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...
'' (
Capitol, 1954)
*
Bill Holman, ''Bill Holman'' (Capitol, 1954)
*
Illinois Jacquet, ''
Illinois Jacquet and His Orchestra'' (
Clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, whic ...
, 1957)
*
Pete Jolly
Pete Jolly (born Peter A. Ceragioli Jr., June 5, 1932 – November 6, 2004) was a two-time Grammy Awards, Grammy-nominated American West Coast jazz pianist and accordionist. He is known for his performance of television theme song, themes and ...
, ''I Get a Kick Out of You'' (RCA, 1955)
* Pete Jolly, ''Jolly Jumps In'' (RCA Victor, 1955)
*
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...
, ''
Cuban Fire!
''Cuban Fire!'' is an album by Stan Kenton and his orchestra released in 1956 by Capitol Records. This was Stan Kenton's big band's first full-length recording of Afro-Cuban-styled music. The LP charted for four weeks in ''Billboard (magazine), B ...
'' (Capitol, 1956)
*
Shelly Manne
Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, ...
, ''
The West Coast Sound'' (Contemporary, 1956)
*
Lyle Murphy, ''12-Tone Compositions & Arrangements'' (Contemporary, 1955)
* Lyle Murphy, ''New Orbits in Sound'' (
GNP, 1958)
*
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes (Greek language, Greek: Ιωάννης Αλέξανδρος Βελιώτης)); December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was a Greek American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, ...
, ''
Willie and the Hand Jive'' (Capitol, 1958)
[Otis, Johnny, Johnny Otis:The Capitol Years, COL CD 2773, Collectables Records, Narberth PA, 2000, liner notes]
*
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...
, Herb Geller, Walter Benton, Joe Maini, Clifford Brown, ''Best Coast Jazz'' (Mercury/EmArcy, 1956)
*
Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist.
Biography
Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields, G ...
, ''That Old Black Magic'' (Capitol, 1954)
* Frank Rosolino, ''Frank Rosolino'' (Capitol, 1956)
*
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
, ''Plays the Music of Harold Arlen'' (Discovery, 1984)
*
Claude Williamson, ''Salute to Bud'' (Capitol, 1954)
*
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.
Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...
, ''Swinging Lester Young'' (Score, 1957)
References
Further reading
* Richard Morton and Brian Cook, ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD'', London, Penguin, 2nd Edition, 1994 & 6th Edition, 2002
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Counce, Curtis
American jazz double-bassists
American male double-bassists
Cool jazz double-bassists
Hard bop double-bassists
West Coast jazz double-bassists
Jazz musicians from Los Angeles
1926 births
1963 deaths
20th-century American double-bassists
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri