Ted Sturgis
Ted "Mohawk" Sturgis[1] is an American jazz bassist.
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.[2]
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.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gourse, Leslie (2009) Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan, p. 21. Da Capo Press At Google Books. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ↑ Campbell, Robert L.; Bukowski, Leonard J. and Büttner, Armin "The Tom Archia Discography"
