Ted Dunbar R.I.P.
Michael Fitzgerald
The master guitarist and teacher Ted Dunbar died Thursday at Robert
Wood Johnson hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. He had been ill and took a
turn for the worst.
Earl Theodore Dunbar was born January 17, 1937 in Port Arthur, TX and
spent time in Indianapolis where he worked as Wes Montgomery's
hand-picked sub. Independently of Wes, Dunbar developed a
thumb-articulation style. However, while Wes utilized upstrokes in
addition to downstrokes, Ted used only downstrokes. In Indianapolis,
he encountered David Baker, who inspired his search for knowledge and
remained a lifelong friend. Ted was also a licensed pharmacist - his
scientific background was a heavy influence on his teaching style and
material.
Ted played on many albums with the biggest names in jazz: McCoy Tyner
(Assante, recently reissued, sadly omitted Dunbar's name from the
credits), Fathead Newman, Gil Evans, J.J. Johnson, Billy Taylor, Buddy
Montgomery, Gatortail Jackson, Charles Mingus, Lou Donaldson, Joe
Williams, Randy Weston, Diana Ross, Charlie Rouse, Sam Rivers, Frank
Foster, Frank Wess, David Schnitter, Albert Heath, Charles McPherson,
and more. He replaced John McLaughlin in Tony Williams's Lifetime
group - an unenviable task, to be sure. He is even seen in the Whitney
Houston movie "The Preacher's Wife". The 2 volume "Tribute To Wes
Montgomery" on Evidence features Ted alongside his students and his
peers - Kenny Burrell, Kevin Eubanks, Gene Bertoncini, William Ash,
Rodney Jones, Jack Wilkins. As a leader, Dunbar recorded for Xanadu
and Steeplechase and as a co-leader with Kenny Barron, for Muse.
Beginning in the early 1970's, he was a professor at Rutgers
University in New Brunswick, NJ and some of the brightest young
students worked with him both at Rutgers and privately. Eubanks, Ash,
Jones, Peter Bernstein, and many, many others. He also taught for over
20 years as part of the Jazzmobile program. His books are
internationally known and are excellent resources for non-guitarists
as well. All are available from Jamey Aebersold - another longtime
friend of Dunbar's.
I expect to have a complete discography on my WWW site this summer. I
studied with Ted at Rutgers for my BM and MM degrees and there was no
one like him. I will always remember his laugh and the sly looks he
gave after passing on a significant piece of knowledge. He had asked
me to help with the publication of his next book. It will forever be a
regret that this project was not completed.
Mike
Don Mopsick
Michael Fitzgerald wrote:
>
> The master guitarist and teacher Ted Dunbar died Thursday at Robert
> Wood Johnson hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. He had been ill and took a
> turn for the worst.
Mike, I am saddened by this news. I was a student of Ted's at
Livingston College (Rutgers) in the mid-70's. I still value the
spiritual approach to music and life which he imparted to me. His most
valuable piece of advice:
"Any spiritual goal that you may have in life can be attained through
music."
Don Mopsick, bassist, Jim Cullum Jazz Band
Howard Peirce
Michael Fitzgerald wrote:
> In Indianapolis,
> he encountered David Baker, who inspired his search for knowledge and
> remained a lifelong friend.
This is indeed sad news. This may exemplify Baker's deep friendship and
respect for Dunbar: When I was a student of David's at IU, the single
largest decoration in his studio, in spite of all his awards and honors
(and considerable ego), was a very large concert poster of Ted Dunbar.
The poster was set up so that when you sat at the piano working through
something with David, Ted Dunbar appeared to peer over your shoulder.
HP
Matt Snyder
Make no mistake about it: David and Ted were the very closest of
friends. My own experience demonstrates the level of trust between
the two. I had studied with Ted before going to IU, and David was
unable to be present at my audition. Later, he told me that all he
had to know was that Ted thought I was worth admitting, and it was a
done deal. I owe much to Ted and am very upset by his death.
_____________________________________
Matt Snyder
msn...@interactive.net
http://www.interactive.net/~msnyder
keith hedger
That's too bad.....I ran into Mr. Dunbar during a 'Jazz in July'
summer program at UMASS, Amherst back in 1990. He was really perturbed
with me for playing a student concert with no shoes on...=:-)
keith
fitz...@eclipse.net (Michael Fitzgerald) wrote:
>The master guitarist and teacher Ted Dunbar died Thursday at Robert
>Wood Johnson hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. He had been ill and took a
>turn for the worst.
>
>Earl Theodore Dunbar was born January 17, 1937 in Port Arthur, TX and
>spent time in Indianapolis where he worked as Wes Montgomery's
>hand-picked sub. Independently of Wes, Dunbar developed a
>thumb-articulation style. However, while Wes utilized upstrokes in
>addition to downstrokes, Ted used only downstrokes. In Indianapolis,
>he encountered David Baker, who inspired his search for knowledge and