Ted Sturgis

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.



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