Terry is a jazz legend and Maine treasure. His musical journey started more than 70 years ago when legendary band leader “King of Swing” Benny Goodman told his mother to buy Brad a clarinet. “I got three free lessons when I bought the instrument and almost immediately, I started playing this wonderful music called jazz. Undiagnosed ADD forced me to learn everything by ear; reading music was not an option. Later I had three unproductive lessons with Benny.”
It was raw luck that early on Terry started playing with Steve Swallow, Sam Brown and Wayne Wright; did concerts with Chuck Wayne and Joe Puma; sat in at the Celebrity Club and played multiple gigs with Buddy Tate and Buck Clayton.
Later he sat in with Eddie Thompson and Major Holly and played for years with Eddie Thompson, even recording a CD with him.
Terry won the Hennessy Cognac Jazz search in New York City with John Basile and recorded a whistling track with Roger Kellaway and Red Mitchell.
Dizzy Gillespie visited for a week doing school programs and invited Brad to New York to play Cuban music with him at The Village Gate.
His album with guitar legend and Maine native Lenny Breau, “Livingroom Tapes,” received four stars from Leonard Feather.
For the last 5 years Terry has performed as much as possible with Peter Herman.
For more information, visit cadenzafreeport.com.
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