Ted Sturgis
Ted "Mohawk" Sturgis (25 April 1913 – 18 October 1995) was an American jazz bassist.[1][2]
Sturgis started on piano at age five and played alto saxophone, guitar and drums in addition to bass. He primarily played double-bass, although he played electric bass on some recordings late in life. He played with Roy Eldridge and Eddie Mallory in New York City in the 1930s, and appears on a 1943 Eldridge recording for Brunswick.[3]
He then worked as a sideman in the 1940s with, among others, Benny Carter, Don Byas, Stuff Smith, and Louis Armstrong. He was a frequent accompanist of female singers such as Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey, and in Earl Hines' orchestra with Sarah Vaughan.[1]
In the 1950s and 1960s Sturgis worked extensively as a freelance musician, and played often in USO events. His credits aside from bass playing include guitar with Lester Young and drums with Stuff Smith. He recorded his last dates as a leader in 1976 but continued to play into the 1980s with Spanky Davis, eventually retiring around the end of the decade.
Discography
- Don Byas, Don Byas in Paris (Prestige, 1968)
- Benny Carter, Benny Carter 1928–1952 (RCA Victor, 1992)
- Roy Eldridge, Swing Along with Little Jazz (MCA Coral, 1974)
- Roy Eldridge, What It's All About (Pablo, 1976)
- Billie Holiday, The Golden Years (Columbia, 1967)
References
- Gourse, Leslie (2009) Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan, p. 21. Da Capo Press At Google Books. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- Rye, Howard (2003). "Sturgis, Ted (1913 - 1995), double bass player". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.j702300. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
- Campbell, Robert L.; Bukowski, Leonard J. and Büttner, Armin "The Tom Archia Discography"