DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Jazz musician, composer and conductor Norris Turney, who played alto sax and flute with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and led the Norris Turney Quartet, died Wednesday of kidney failure. He was 79.
Turney recorded with a number of bands over the years and toured with Billy Eckstine, Ray Charles and others. He was an original member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra directed by Wynton Marsalis.
Turney's lone CD as a band leader, "Big, Sweet 'N Blue," was warmly received by jazz critics.