One of the finest trombonists of the 1980s and '90s, Steve Turre also introduced the conch shells to jazz. After a brief period on violin he switched to trombone when he was ten. Turre worked locally from age 13, played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk off and on from 1968, recorded with Santana in 1970, and in 1972 toured with Ray Charles. Turre had many diverse musical experiences in the 1970s including tours with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (both in 1973), an opportunity to play trombone and electric bass regularly with Chico Hamilton (1974-1976), and recording with Woody Shaw and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Kirk inspired Turre to play exotic shells, and his ability to get a wide range of clear tones is quite impressive. After that time, Turre toured with McCoy Tyner, Dexter Gordon, Slide Hampton, Poncho Sanchez, Hilton Ruiz, and Tito Puente, among others. In 1987, he joined Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra and he also played regularly with Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy, the Leaders, and the Timeless All-Stars. Turre performed with his Sanctified Shells (a group featuring four trombonists doubling on shells, trumpeter E.J. Allen, bass, drums, and several percussionists) at the 1995 Monterey Jazz Festival and has recorded as a leader for Stash, Antilles, Verve, and Telarc. Rainbow People, recorded in 2007 at Knoop Studios in New Jersey, appeared in 2008 from Highnote Records. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
He is also noted for playing conch and other seashells as musical instruments, which he has done since 1970. Kirk encouraged his interest in using seashells as a lip-reed instrument. Turre has a collection of shells of various sizes, which he has picked up during his travels in the Caribbean and elsewhere. The shells have their mouthpieces carefully cut and are tuned to specific pitches. When playing them as a soloist he frequently switches between shells, as each is limited in its register (the smallest shells, for example, have a practical register of only a fifth). His largest shell, from the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, has a range between the D and E below middle C, and was painted by a Cuban artist. Turre also leads "Sanctified Shells," which is a "shell choir" made up of brass players who double on seashell (using shells from Turre's collection, which he loans out for rehearsals and performances). The group released its first, eponymous album in 1993.
He has had long experience with Latin jazz, and is also a skilled player of the cowbell and Venezuelan maracas.
