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| Joe Temperley | |
|---|---|
| Name | Joe Temperley |
| Birth date | 1929-09-20 |
| Death date | 2016-05-11 |
| Birth place | Galashiels, Scotland |
| Death place | New York City, New York |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations | Musician, Composer |
| Instruments | Baritone saxophone, Bass clarinet, Clarinet |
| Years active | 1940s–2016 |
Joe Temperley
Joe Temperley was a Scottish saxophonist and clarinetist best known for his work on the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet in big band and small ensemble jazz contexts. He built a career across Scotland, England, and the United States, performing with leading ensembles and collaborating with prominent figures in jazz history. Temperley combined a robust low-register sound with lyrical phrasing, contributing to recordings, broadcasts, and live performances that linked postwar British jazz scenes with the New York jazz milieu.
Born in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, Temperley grew up in a region with strong ties to Scottish music and community bands. As a youth he studied reed instruments, influenced by recordings and broadcasts from BBC, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and visiting American artists performing in London. He participated in local ensembles and received practical apprenticeship in band settings rather than formal conservatory training, later moving to London to pursue professional opportunities and to engage with the burgeoning postwar British jazz circuit.
Temperley began his professional career in the United Kingdom playing with dance bands and jazz orchestras, working alongside musicians from the British jazz scene and appearing on BBC Radio broadcasts. He relocated to New York City in the 1970s, joining the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and becoming a fixture in the Big Apple jazz community. Temperley was a longtime member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra ensemble led by Wynton Marsalis and performed with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and at venues such as Birdland, Village Vanguard, and Carnegie Hall. He also led small groups and recorded as a leader, touring internationally through Europe, Japan, and the United States.
Temperley’s sound reflected the lineage of baritone players and reed masters from Coleman Hawkins to Harry Carney and Gerry Mulligan, blending a warm low register with breath-driven phrasing reminiscent of Ben Webster and harmonic awareness akin to John Coltrane. His bass clarinet work drew on idioms associated with Eric Dolphy and classical reed techniques from Clarinetists active in British orchestras and American orchestras. Temperley incorporated swing-era articulation and modern harmonic vocabulary, reflecting influences from Count Basie Orchestra arrangers, Duke Ellington Orchestra voicings, and bebop innovators such as Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk.
Temperley recorded with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra on several albums and featured on sessions with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Duke Ellington Orchestra alumni, Kenny Barron, Tommy Flanagan, and Phil Woods. His discography as a leader and sideman spans releases on labels associated with Jazz production and distribution, including sessions that paired him with saxophonists and arrangers from the big band and small group traditions. Temperley appeared on recordings connected to Lincoln Center, historic revivals of Ellington and Basie repertoires, and collaborative projects with European jazz artists during festival appearances at events linked to Montreux Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival.
Temperley received recognition from jazz institutions and peers for his contributions to baritone saxophone performance and for sustaining ties between British jazz heritage and the American jazz mainstream. He was honored in New York and Scotland for lifetime achievement and was celebrated in tributes and memorial concerts featuring members of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, former colleagues from the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and international guest artists. His recordings continue to be cited in histories of baritone saxophone performance and in scholarship on transatlantic jazz exchange.
Temperley maintained connections to his Scottish roots while living in New York City, mentoring younger musicians and participating in educational activities associated with institutions such as the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and university jazz programs. Colleagues recall his warmth, humor, and professionalism; younger baritone and bass clarinet players cite his tone and approach as influential in contemporary jazz pedagogy. After his death in 2016, tributes from ensembles, festivals, and publications documented his role in bridging British jazz and American jazz traditions, ensuring his musical legacy in recordings, arrangements, and the musicians he inspired.
Category:Scottish jazz musicians Category:Baritone saxophonists Category:2016 deaths Category:1929 births