| Terry Burrus | |
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Terry Burrus |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Terrance Corley Burrus |
| Born | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Genres | Jazz fusion, jazz-funk, classical, electro, house music, soul, pop rock |
| Occupations | Pianist, keyboardist, organist, record producer, composer, conductor, dj, bandleader |
| Instruments | Piano, keyboards, synthesizer, guitar, melodica, double bass, organ |
| Labels | Ichiban, Ichiban-EMI, Arista, Bee Pee, Easystreet, Blue Corner |
| Website | www.terryburrus.com |
Terrance Corley Burrus is an American keyboardist and composer.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, he started touring as a teenager playing with jazz fusion violinist Michał Urbaniak, singer Jean Carne, while still in High school in New York. Not sure of how Urbaniak got his phone number but Terry went to replace his current keyboardist at that time, Barry Eastman (who wrote "You Are My Lady years later for Freddie Jackson) in Urbaniaks band that worked out great for Terry. Terry was brought to Jean Carne through percussionist- producer Norman Hedman who was one of Terry's musical mentors as a child also. Later on through these types of associations, Terry went on to play with trumpeter, Tom Browne, drummer Lenny White and singer Melba Moore. As a recommendation from his friend the late great pianist Kenny Kirkland who was the keyboardist for Sting during the mid eighties, Burrus moved on to play with the great Lena Horne in her award winning show "Lady And Her Music" in 1984. Lena Horne's band was Terry on piano and keys, Ben Brown on Bass, Rodney Jones on guitar, Wilby Fletcher on drums along with music director Linda Twine and an array of orchestras on various concert dates including the London Symphony Orchestra. A year earlier in 1983 Terry released his first solo single called, Love Rockin' for Arista Records a funk, electro, soul piece written and with all vocals and instruments done by Burrus,and high school buddy Omar Hakim did the drumming. This was known as Terry Burrus And Transe produced by Burrus and Marcus Miller, another High school friend at that time. Terry and Marcus Miller along with drummer, Poogie Bell, Bobby Broom, another high school guitar friend and Bernard Wright also another high school companion went on to play for an off Broadway show called "Young Gifted And Broke' at the Billie Holiday Theater In Brooklyn, New York. This show was written by Weldon Irving Jr. in 1977. They were all kids and young adults getting a great experience at that time through the leadership of Weldon Irving. Irving had co-wrote with Nina Simone the famed song "Young Gifted And Black". Return To Forever's drummer,and jazz fusion pioneer Lenny White joined the "Young Gifted And Broke" crew of musicians as a second and replacement drummer for Poogie Bell at times. This was during the Chick Corea Return to Forever post season. As time went on Terry became a highly respected and successful recording session man playing on recordings of Michael Jackson, Toni Braxton, Janet Jackson, Swing Out Sister, Mariah Carey, The Cardigans, Donna Summer, Lisa Stansfield, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Phyllis Hyman, Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Satoshi Tomiie, Todd Terry and more. Burrus being no stranger to synthesizers and electronic sounds is said to own just about every electric keyboard that has came out since the Wurlitzer electric piano. But the Classical side of Burrus studying the artistry of Mozart, Beethoven, Handel and others during his school days growing up in New York has always been intrigued by the great masters of those times. Burrus has said you are always a student in music forever. In his contemporary piano compositions and playing you can hear much of his classical influences. He performs many classical piano recitals around the world as well as in the jazz and pop genres. Terry Burrus has also been the sideman/recorded/ music director on many Jazz Explosion tours as they were known in the 80's and 90's as well as soul and gospel concerts with Queen Esther Marrow and the Harlem Gospel Singers, Lionel Hampton, Gato Barbieri, George Benson, Angela Bofill, Larry Carlton, Bill Withers, Ramsey Lewis, Crowne Heights Affair, Chaka Khan, Ronnie Laws, The Main Ingredient, Johnny Kemp, Stanley Clarke, Noel Pointer, Bobbi Humphrey, Sherry Winston. He also had another revelation in his life. He wrote and produced with the President of Philadelphia International Records, Kenny Gamble, who was a big influence on Terry in the music business. They wrote and produced, "Living In Confusion" and "Forever With You" for Phyllis Hyman. Terry wrote, "I Just Love You So Much" for Billy Paul and he wrote and produced,"Love Goddess" for Lonnie Liston Smith.Terry also wrote and produced,"I'll Wait for You" and "The One And Only Lady In My Life"for Virgin recording group, Burrell and the list goes on for other compositions and productions to his credit. With his contributions to the many remixes of artists during the eighties and nineties to present day, reinforcing the sound of House and Electronic Music, His early associations working with Def Mix Productions, Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Satoshi Tomei and Todd Terry, Junior Vasquez, Paul Simpson, Winston Jones, Dave shaw, Jellybean Benitez, Tony Humphries, François K and many other International and American DJ producers have rooted him quite well on the dancefloors and in the remix world. Stretching into the world of Techno, Trance, Ambient, World and more, he has created sounds and style in electronica that grew rapidly around the world, especially his piano style which was so prevalent and domineering in the 1990s on so many recordings by well known and new artists from around the world. From his teenage days as a jazz fusionist to funkster to house and electronica pioneer, make no mistake about this, Terry Burrus is also an ambassador of electronic music.
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Starting at the age of five Terry Burrus started his interest in the organ and piano in Brooklyn at the Washington Temple Church Of God In Christ, a Pentecostal Church under the founder Pastor Bishop F.D. Washington. Terry's mother Carter Lee and father James were singing in the choir at the time since the mid 1950's. By the time Terry was five his parents enrolled him at the Alfred Miller Music school. Excelling so well he was playing Gospel hymns about a year or so later. He went on to study music at the La Guardia School of Arts In New York City ( Formerly known as Music and Art) and later attended Long island University in New York. All of this while recording in his personal and public recording studios moving into a creative frame of mind as well as playing concerts worldwide as a sideman with Jean Carne, Michael Urbaniak, Tom Browne, Stanley Turrentine, Lenny White, Lena Horne, Phyllis Hyman, Crowne Heights Affair and The Main Ingredient with Cuba Gooding. Terry Burrus always calls the name of Sticks Evans who was his junior high school music teacher for the encouragement and inspiration as a younster. Stick Evans was his teacher at the John Coleman I.S.271 Junior High School in Brooklyn, New York who played drums for Aretha Franklin and Sammy Davis, Jr. Although Stick Evans was his teacher and mentor, he regarded Terry like a little brother or even a son. So it was in this relationship that Terry acquired strength to go on in the music world in life. In the late 1980s Terry even took a brand new built apartment in mid-Manhattan which was also the area where Evans had lived for many years until his death in the early 90's.