Bertram Turetzky

Bertram Jay Turetzky (born February 14, 1933) is an American double bass player, composer, teacher, and author of The Contemporary Contrabass (1974). Early life and education Turetzky was born in Norwich, Connecticut, He received a master’s degree in music history from the University of Hartford. He started out playing classic jazz. Career Turetzky has performed and recorded many pieces written by and for him. Turetzky’s first recording was in 1964, featuring the work of American composers George Perle, Jay Sydeman, Donald Martino, Kenneth Gaburo, Ben Johnston, and Charles Whittenberg. His recording activities continued with records on labels Nonesuch, Son Nova, Ars Antigua, and Desto. He also made a series of recordings on the Nine Winds label with improvisational musicians George E. Lewis, Vinny Golia, Wadada Leo Smith, Mike Wofford, and others. Turetzky is the most widely recorded double bass soloist, with seven albums on the Advance Records, Ars Nova Records, Nonesuch, Takoma, Desto, and Finnadar Records music labels. Turetzky plays chamber music, baroque music, jazz, renaissance music, improvisational music, klezmer music and many other genres of world music. Bernard Jacobson