Curtis Counce Explained
Curtis Counce (January 23, 1926 - July 31, 1963) was an American hard bop 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,[1] Shelly Manne, Lyle Murphy, Teddy Charles, and Clifford Brown.[2] Counce formed his quintet in 1956 featuring tenor saxophonist Harold Land, trumpeter Jack Sheldon, pianist Carl Perkins and drummer Frank Butler. Elmo Hope replaced Perkins after his death at age 29 in 1958.[3] Gerald Wilson replaced Sheldon on some recordings. The four albums originally released on Contemporary Records were reissued in 2006 on a double CD by Gambit Spain. Counce died in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack.[4] 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
As sideman
With Maynard Ferguson
With Herb Geller
- Herb Geller Plays (EmArcy, 1954)
- Jazz Studio 2 from Hollywood (Decca, 1954)
- Jazz Studio 2 from Hollywood Part II (Brunswick, 1954)
With Shorty Rogers
With others
- Chet Baker & Art Pepper, Playboys (World Pacific, 1957)
- Clifford Brown, Clifford Brown All Stars (EmArcy, 1956)
- Teddy Charles, Collaboration West (Prestige, 1956)
- Teddy Charles, Evolution (Prestige, 1957)
- Buddy Collette & Chico Hamilton, Tanganyika (Dig, 1956)
- Maxwell Davis, Compositions of Duke Ellington and Others (Crown, 1960)
- Buddy DeFranco, Generalissimo (Verve, 1958)
- Herbie Fields, Blow Hot Blow Cool (Decca, 1955)
- Jimmy Giuffre, Jimmy Giuffre (Capitol, 1954)
- Bill Holman, Bill Holman (Capitol, 1954)
- Illinois Jacquet, Illinois Jacquet and His Orchestra (Clef, 1957)
- Pete Jolly, I Get a Kick Out of You (RCA, 1955)
- Pete Jolly, Jolly Jumps In (RCA Victor, 1955)
- Stan Kenton, Cuban Fire! (Capitol, 1956)
- Shelly Manne, The West Coast Sound (Contemporary, 1956)
- Lyle Murphy, 12-Tone Compositions & Arrangements (Contemporary, 1955)
- Lyle Murphy, New Orbits in Sound (GNP, 1958)
- Johnny Otis, Willie and the Hand Jive (Capitol, 1958)[5]
- Max Roach, Herb Geller, Walter Benton, Joe Maini, Clifford Brown, Best Coast Jazz (Mercury/EmArcy, 1956)
- Frank Rosolino, That Old Black Magic (Capitol, 1954)
- Frank Rosolino, Frank Rosolino (Capitol, 1956)
- John Williams, Plays the Music of Harold Arlen (Discovery, 1984)
- Claude Williamson, Salute to Bud (Capitol, 1954)
- Lester Young, Swinging Lester Young (Score, 1957)
Further reading
- Richard Morton and Brian Cook, The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, London, Penguin, 2nd Edition, 1994 & 6th Edition, 2002
Notes and References
- Liner notes from "You get more bounce with Curtis Counce" (Contemporary C7539).
- Web site: Curtis Counce . Concord Music Group . 14 November 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129030157/http://www2.concordmusicgroup.com/artists/Curtis-Counce/ . 2014-11-29 .
- Web site: Samuel . Chell . Curtis Counce/Jack Sheldon/Harold Land/Carl Perkins/Frank Butler Quintet: Complete Studio Recordings . 11 June 2007 . . 14 November 2014 .
- Book: The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz. Colin Larkin. Guinness Publishing. 1992. First. 0-85112-580-8. 105/6.
- Otis, Johnny, Johnny Otis:The Capitol Years, COL CD 2773, Collectables Records, Narberth PA, 2000, liner notes
