Terell Stafford

When McCoy Tyner, longtime pianist with John Coltrane's quartet, says Terell Stafford is one of the great players of our time, that carries some serious weight. Tyner, who's been playing professionally for fifty years, knows a good player when he hears one. He thought enough of Stafford's playing to recruit him to perform in his sextet and Latin All-Star Band. Before playing with Tyner, Stafford performed with such jazz luminaries as Benny Golson, Kenny Barron and Jimmy Heath. On his latest album, Taking Chances: Live at the Dakota, released earlier this year on the MaxJazz imprint, the trumpeter stretches out with pianist Bruce Barth and saxophonist Tim Warfield. The disc finds the whole group in fine form, especially Stafford whose tone sparkles something wonderful on cuts like "Blues for J.T." Stafford will be joined at Dazzle this Friday by talented local players Pat Bianchi, Jim White and John Gunther.