"We Always Swing"® Jazz Series presents

Terell Stafford Quintet

Photo Credit Jimmy Ryan

Billy Strayhorn is widely considered one of jazz’s greatest composers. His three-decade-long collaboration with Duke Ellington supplied the American songbook with numerous brilliant, timeless classics. Enter Terell Stafford, a popular site at the Jazz Series who also happens to be one of today’s premier trumpeters. Nothing short of a technical wizard, Stafford, a complete player, possesses a great sense of melody and a uniquely expressive sound. The result: This Side of Strayhorn (MAXJAZZ),

 

While Stafford has established a voice all his own, combing lyricism and a deep love of melody with a spirited, adventurous edge, the Director of Jazz Studies at Temple University knows and respects the rich trumpet tradition of his predecessors. Stafford’s career, now 25 years strong, incorporates small group work with a quintet of NEA Jazz Masters:Benny Golson, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Barron, Jimmy Heath and  Frank Wess as well as being a regular contributor to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Stafford first came to our attention when he rose to prominence in the mid-1980s as a member of Bobby Watson’s famed quintet Horizon. Since then he has garnered even more attention for more recent ongoing stints with the likes of the Clayton Brothers and Matt Wilson’s “Arts & Crafts.” 

 

As for Stafford’s take on Strayhorn, this latest project offers refreshing interpretations of a number of Strayhorn compositions. Forever surrounding himself with excellent colleagues and peers for this assignment the trumpeter enlists his working ensemble. We’re only too happy to welcome this all-star/all-leader quintet back. It’s a unit that includes: versatile saxophonist Tim Warfield Jr.; pianist and arranger Bruce Barth who, with Steve Wilson, is one half of the Jazz Series-produced duo CD, HOME: Live in Columbia, Missouri (WASJS); Peter Washington, perhaps jazz’s most in-demand bassist, who appeared last February as a member of Benny Green’s Trio; and drummer Dana Hall, who calls Chicago home.

Audio and Video

Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012

"Sundays @ Murry's"

Murry's

Show 1 | Doors: 2:30 p.m. | Start: 3:30 p.m.

Show 2 | Doors: 6 p.m. | Start: 7 p.m.

Terell Stafford Quintet

Terell Stafford: Trumpet
Tim Warfield: Saxophone
Bruce Barth: Piano
Rodney Whitaker: Bass
Dana Hall: Drums

"Mr. Stafford established his style as a soloist: combustible but controlled, with a good bit of blare in his tone, and a cadence that moved from bulletlike eighth-note runs to syncopated feints and jabs."

- The New York Times

Stafford's band was the perfect fit for his style of aggressive yet precise playing. Washington often took unaccompanied solos, in which he displayed nearly unmatched technical ability and flawless rhythmic feel.

- All About Jazz

Press Photos

Photo #1


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