* En anglais uniquement
Ted Sturgis began playing piano at the age of five, mastered several other instruments and as a bassist was a favorite of top singers such as
Billie Holiday,
Mildred Bailey, and
Sarah Vaughan. He was in his early twenties when he began gigging in New York City with trumpeter
Roy Eldridge, a bandleader who would put
Sturgis into service several times during their long careers. In the 1937 band of Eddie Mallory the bassist also doubled on alto saxophone. As the '40s unraveled
Sturgis stumped across many bandstands with an ever-growing list of associates including saxophonists
Benny Carter and
Don Byas as well as the great
Louis Armstrong.
Sturgis kept up a sturdy freelance schedule in the '50s and '60s, the schedule including a busy USO affiliation in which he was quite frequently featured as a pianist. The discography of this performer reveals much less of his multi-instrumentalist status as he seems to have been most often recorded as a bassist, albeit a few ringers including guitar on a
Lester Young side and drums on a
Stuff Smith date. He also tried out the electric bass on some later recording dates. Easing into retirement by the '80s, the talented
Sturgis cut his last sides in 1976 and was swinging regularly at Jimmy Ryan's club in New York City throughout that decade. ~ Eugene Chadbourne