Trombone (1932-2021)

Born Curtis DuBois Fuller on 15 December 1932 in Detroit, Curtis Fuller was an American jazz trombonist whose fluid technique and ambitious solos made him a hard bop mainstay. Orphaned young, Fuller was raised in a Jesuit orphanage. A nun took him to see Illinois Jacquet with J.J. Johnson, sparking his jazz passion. He attended Cass Tech High School with Paul Chambers, Donald Byrd, Tommy Flanagan, and Thad Jones, taking up trombone at 16. After serving in the US Army 1953-1955 with Chambers and Cannonball Adderley, he worked in Detroit with Kenny Burrell and Yusef Lateef before moving to New York in 1957.

Fuller's New York breakthrough was astonishing: in nine months, he recorded eight times as leader and appeared on 15 sessions including Coltrane's Blue Train. Alfred Lion signed him to Blue Note for The Opener, Bone & Bari, and sessions with Sonny Clark, Jimmy Smith, and Lee Morgan. Fuller became first trombonist in Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet (1959), then joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers 1961-1965. He toured with Dizzy Gillespie (1968) and Count Basie (1975-1977), co-led Giant Bones with Kai Winding (1979-1980), and toured Europe with Timeless All-Stars through the 1980s. Named 2007 NEA Jazz Master, Fuller died 8 May 2021 aged 88.