Curtis Fuller

Among a select group of trombonists that included J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding, Curtis Fuller stood out for rendering the instrument smooth and appealing instead of cumbersome. His knack for executing broad leaps across octaves and delivering rapid, snapping phrases with an easygoing nonchalance highlighted his exceptional technique. Often venturing into ambitious and inventive territory with his improvisations, Fuller lent his talents to numerous outstanding ensembles and took part in many memorable recording sessions.

After studying music during his high school years, he honed his abilities within a military ensemble alongside Cannonball Adderley. In Detroit he collaborated with Kenny Burrell and Yusef Lateef before relocating to New York. His debut recording under his own name appeared on Transition in 1955, followed by sessions for Blue Note, Prestige, United Artists, and Savoy through the latter half of the decade. As a founding member of the Jazztet with Benny Golson and Art Farmer in 1959, he then joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and remained until 1965. Additional dates in the 1960s came via Warwick, Smash/Trip, Epic, and Impulse!, while 1968 found him touring Europe with Dizzy Gillespie's big band and participating in further New York sessions.

During the 1970s Fuller explored hard bop charts inside a group that used electronic instruments, leading a unit featuring guitarist Bill Washer and Stanley Clarke; that phase ended with the 1973 release Crankin'. He traveled with the Count Basie band from 1975 to 1977 and recorded for Mainstream, Timeless, and Bee Hive. Between 1979 and 1980 he co-led the quintet Giant Bones with Winding and maintained ties to Art Blakey, Cedar Walton, and Benny Golson into the early 1980s. Regular European tours with the Timeless All-Stars occupied much of that decade, during which he also performed and recorded with the reconstituted Jazztet and led a notable Savoy session in 1993.

In the following decades Fuller sustained an active performance schedule, issuing albums on Delmark, Capri, and Savant. He stepped away from playing in the early 2010s, with Down Home serving as his final studio album in 2012. The esteemed trombonist died on May 8, 2021, at the age of 88.