Clark Terry is one of those amazing, big-hearted artists who fully lives up to the reputation of a legend. Terry was a soloist in the jazz orchestras of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, and in the early 1960s was the first black musician hired by NBC to play in the Tonight Show orchestra.
No other jazz trumpeter has appeared on as many recordings, and Terry is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions including a German knighthood and membership in the French Order of Arts and Letters.
Supporter of young talent
A huge supporter of young musicians, Terry mentored jazz legend Miles Davis early in the musician’s career. Terry has also taught and encouraged countless other musicians through the years, including Vancouver trumpeter, arranger and bandleader Alan Matheson. For a few days back in 1991, Matheson joined a touring big band in Pennsylvania that had engaged Terry as their featured soloist. The band was performing Matheson’s arrangement of Billy Strayhorn’s “The Intimacy of the Blues,” a chart featuring Terry’s rich flugelhorn stylings. Matheson, reached by phone, describes this opportunity to work closely with one of his heroes:
“When I wrote the chart, I subconsciously had Clark’s sound in mind, not knowing that one day I’d get to hear him perform it night after night.”
“On the tour bus I made sure to sit at the front right next to Clark and ask him everything I could think of about his life and the jazz world,” continues Matheson. “He has an amazing memory and is a very generous guy. He’s been such an inspiration to me.”
Matheson and Terry have continued a friendship and maintained a professional relationship on subsequent visits to Vancouver, where Terry was the featured soloist in 2000 and 2003 in two concerts, called A Tribute to Louis Armstrong and a Tribute to Duke Ellington, both directed by Matheson.
Birthday tribute
More recently, Matheson took part in an event to honour Terry’s 91st birthday organized by Vancouver podiatrist and tuba player, Marc Lindy. The slightly mischievous idea involved supplementing some street signage on Vancouver’s Clark Drive with a sign reading “Clark Terry Drive.” The photos at the top of this post show the result of that birthday gag meant to cheer up Terry.
At 91, Terry is experiencing significant health issues that have required costly treatment. But with all the good vibes Terry has propagated through the years, friends and supporters have leapt in to help assist with his financial burden. On Monday, April 23 in New York, friends of Terry are assembling for a benefit concert with a staggering array of jazz artists, all supporting their friend. The Clark Terry Fundraising Concert starts at 7 p.m. at St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan. More information on the event and how to help are available here.
Related links:
Oscar Peterson in the Black Forest
The Miles Files - Miles Davis's first teacher
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