1. Thomas Eugene Turk was an American jazz trombonist.
17 Facts About Tommy Turk
1. 2.
Thomas Eugene Tommy Turk was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on July 2,1927.
3.
Tommy Turk's father, Joseph, was a coal miner and self-taught trumpeter.
4.
Tommy Turk got his first trombone when he was in fourth grade of school.
5.
Tommy Turk had further musical experience in the Conemaugh High School band, and graduated from the same school in 1944.
6.
The brothers then continued playing together in a University of Michigan campus band, but Tommy Turk soon joined the army, where he led bands.
7.
Tommy Turk left the army and then moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1947.
8.
Tommy Turk became established there as part of the Deuces Wild quintet.
9.
Tommy Turk's appearance was a success, and Granz recruited Turk to play in Chicago, and for several months in 1948 as part of Jazz at the Philharmonic.
10.
Tommy Turk can be heard on several CDs with Charlie Parker.
11.
In 1954, The Pittsburgh Press reported that Tommy Turk was considering leaving the area because his annual earnings of less than $5,500 from leading Deuces Wild were inadequate.
12.
Tommy Turk recorded with Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Flip Phillips around the same time.
13.
For many years Tommy Turk led a quartet that played at the Point View Hotel in Brentwood, Pennsylvania.
14.
Tommy Turk later moved to Las Vegas, to play in house bands.
15.
Years later, Tommy Turk was living and performing in Las Vegas.
16.
The 15-year-old who shot Tommy Turk was made eligible for parole in 2005.
17.
Tommy Turk, who was 53, was survived by his wife and two sons.