Curtis Counce


Curtis Counce was an American hard bop and West Coast jazz double bassist.

Biography

Counce was born in Kansas City, Missouri and moved to California in 1945. He began recording in 1946 with Lester Young, and in the 1950s in Los Angeles with musicians such as Shorty Rogers, Stan Kenton, Shelly Manne, Lyle Murphy, Teddy Charles, and Clifford Brown. Counce formed his quintet in 1956 featuring tenor saxophonist Harold Land, trumpeter Jack Sheldon, pianist Carl Perkins and drummer Frank Butler. Elmo Hope replaced Perkins after his death at age 29 in 1958. Gerald Wilson replaced Sheldon on some recordings. The four albums originally released on Contemporary Records were reissued in 2006 on a double CD by Gambit Spain. Counce died in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack. He was survived by his wife, Mildred Counce and only child Celeste Counce. He is survived by a son born April 1961 and given up for adoption. Curtis knew he had a son but due to circumstances was not afforded the opportunity to raise him.

Discography

As leader

With Maynard Ferguson
With Herb Geller
With Shorty Rogers
With others