Timeline
1920s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Just Friends
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
2010s
Biography
Biography
Joe Temperley (20 September 1929 – 11 May 2016) was a Scottish jazz saxophonist. He performed with various instruments, but was most associated with the baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone, and bass clarinet.
Life
Temperley was born in Cowdenbeath, Scotland, and grew up in Lochgelly. His father was a bus driver.
Temperley started to play cornet around the age of 12, then started on saxophone at the age of 14. Six months later, he got his first job at the Glasgow-based Tommy Sampson's Orchestra, having previously played in local dance bands. He joined Humphrey Lyttelton's London-based band in 1957 and stayed until 1965, when he moved to the US. After six months, he was recruited by Woody Herman, with whom he toured for two years.
He also performed or recorded with Buddy Rich, Joe Henderson, Duke Pearson, the Jazz Composer's Orchestra, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and Clark Terry among many others. In October 1974, he toured and recorded with the Duke Ellington Orchestra as a replacement for Harry Carney.
During the 1980s, Temperley played in the Broadway show Sophisticated Ladies; and his film soundtrack credits included Cotton Club, Biloxi Blues, Brighton Beach Memoirs, When Harry Met Sally..., and Tune in Tomorrow, the latter composed by Wynton Marsalis.
He was a guest mentor of the Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra programme in Scotland. He was an original member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and served on the faculty of the Juilliard School for Jazz Studies.
Temperley died of kidney failure and cancer in New York City on 11 May 2016, aged 86.
As leader
Just Friends with Jimmy Knepper (Hep, 1979)
When You're Smiling with Benny Waters (Hep, 1981)
Concerto for Joe (Hep, 1995)
Sunbeam and Thundercloud with Dave McKenna (Concord Jazz, 1996)
With Every Breath (Hep, 1998)
Double Duke (Naxos, 1999)
Live at the Floating Jazz Festival with Kenny Davern (Chiaroscuro, 2000)
Saxploitation with Kathy Stobart (Spotlite, 2001)
Monk with Junior Mance (Chiaroscuro, 2003)
As sideman
With Buck Clayton
The Great Buck Clayton (Polydor, 1964)
A Buck Clayton Jam Session (Chiaroscuro, 1974)
A Buck Clayton Jam Session Vol. IV (Chiaroscuro, 1977)
A Swingin' Dream (Stash, 1989)
With Eumir Deodato
Deodato 2 (CTI, 1973)
Whirlwinds (MCA, 1974)
In Concert (CTI, 1974)
With Duke Ellington Orchestra
Continuum (Fantasy, 1976)
Music Is My Mistress (Musicmasters, 1989)
Four Symphonic Works by Duke Ellington (Musical Heritage Society, 1989)
Thank You Uncle Edward (Renma, 2007)
With Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Crescent City Christmas Card (Columbia, 1989)
Tune in Tomorrow (Columbia, 1990)
Portraits by Ellington (Columbia, 1992)
Big Train (Columbia/Sony, 1999)
Live in Swing City, Swingin' with Duke (Columbia, 1999)
Essentially Ellington 2000 (Warner, 2000)
Plays the Music of Duke Ellington (Brooks Brothers, 2004)
A Love Supreme (Palmetto, 2004)
Cast of Cats (Brooks Brothers, 2004)
Don't Be Afraid...the Music of Charles Mingus (Palmetto, 2005)
Vitoria Suite (EmArcy, 2010)
Portrait in Seven Shades (Jazz at Lincoln Center, 2010)
Live in Cuba (Blue Engine, 2016)
With Humphrey Lyttelton
Humph in Perspective (Parlophone, 1958)
Blues in the Night (Columbia, 1960)
Hump and Friends (Metronome, 1961)
Late Night Final (Columbia, 1963)
Humphrey Lyttelton and His Band (Society, 1965)
Duke Ellington Classics (Black Lion, 1971)
Humph Dedicates (Vocalion, 2005)
With others
John Barry, The Cotton Club (Geffen, 1984)
Luiz Bonfa, Manhattan Strut (Paddle Wheel, 1997)
Ann Hampton Callaway, To Ella with Love (After 9, 1996)
Benny Carter, Over the Rainbow (Musicmasters, 1989)
Betty Carter, The Music Never Stops (Blue Engine, 2019)
Aaron Diehl, Space Time Continuum (Mack Avenue, 2015)
Victor Feldman, In London Vol. 2 Big Band (Tempo, 1957)
Wycliffe Gordon, Slidin' Home (Nagel Heyer, 1999)
Scott Hamilton & Warren Vaché Jr., Skyscrapers (Concord Jazz, 1980)
Michael Hashim, Multi-Coloured Blue (Hep, 1999)
Joe Henderson, Big Band (Verve, 1996)
Jon Hendricks, Freddie Freeloader (Denon, 1990)
Woody Herman, Woody Live East and West (Columbia, 1967)
Dick Hyman, From the Age of Swing (Reference, 1994)
The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Central Park North (Solid State, 1969)
The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, The Groove Merchant (LaserLight 1999)
O'Donel Levy, Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (Groove Merchant, 1974)
Gerry Mulligan, Walk on the Water (DRG, 1980)
Ted Nash, Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom (Motema, 2016)
Paula West, Come What May (Hi Horse, 2001)
Ernie Wilkins, Hard Mother Blues (Mainstream, 1970)
Ernie Wilkins, Screaming Mothers (Mainstream, 1974)
Anthony Wilson, Goat Hill Junket (Mama, 1998)
Glenn Zottola, Christmas in Jazztime (Dreamstreet, 1986)
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 12 | 88.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 27 | 60th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (10 release groups · 10 studio albums)
Albums · 10
1979 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 45:15
A1John's Bunch4:55A2Stella by Starlight4:45A3Just in Time4:25A4Poor Butterfly3:50A5Just Friends6:15B1Yardbird Suite6:10B2Aristocracy (Of Jean Laffitte)5:22B3Sophisticated Lady4:25B4Lester Leaps5:081995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:08:55
1Hackensack6:042Snibor6:113In A Sentimental Mood5:244Blues For Nat5:195East Of The Sun5:486A Single Petal Of A Rose3:247Cottontail6:318Awright Already6:299Blues5:3610Slow For Joe5:2311A Day At A Time4:0712Sixes And Sevens7:1413Eriskay Love Lilt (trad)1:251996 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:03:46
1Once in a While4:592Sunbeam and Thundercloud4:473Sunset and the Mockingbird7:264Gone With the Wind5:215Black and Tan Fantasy4:306I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart6:227Lotus Blossom5:088Tricotism4:289Nightingale5:1610I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me6:1311I Wish I Knew3:2412I Got Rhythm5:521998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:17:08
1Three Little Words4:452When Lights Are Low5:393Skylark4:134Riverside Drive5:545Close To You6:546Blue Monk8:057Long Ago And Far Away5:318The Very Thought Of You4:539Skye Boat Song5:2910In A Sentimental Mood4:4311With Every Breath I Take7:1212Smoke Gets In Your Eyes4:5113Ow4:5414I Hear The Shadows Dancing4:051999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 56:55
1Raincheck6:162Creole Love Call8:063Tricotism5:524Black and Tan Fantasy8:235Double Duke (Rubber Bottom/Cottontail)4:566Try a Little Tenderness5:477Elsa5:138Fascinatin' Rhythm7:179Danny Boy5:052001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:13:53
1That Old Feeling5:062The Very Thought of You4:353I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart8:474It's Easy to Remember2:495East of the Sun10:096Warm Valley3:497Just Friends6:328(How Little It Matters) How Little We Know5:439Someone to Watch over Me3:5010Things Ain't What They Used to Be8:1511Ask Me Now4:3512Torpedo7:4213Hielan' Laddie2:01Play the Music of Thelonious Monk
2003 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:06:17
1Blue Monk9:082Little Rootie Tootie8:203Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are7:254Ask Me Now9:145I Mean You7:496Rhythm-A-Ning6:517Straight No Chaser7:478Hackensack9:432005 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 56:22
1Raincheck5:212Body & Soul5:593Indian Summer6:104Sunset & A Mocking Bird6:225Petite Fleur4:196Nightingale5:047It's You or No One6:568Creole Love Call7:219Action6:5910My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose1:512006 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 58:16
1The Goof and I4:422I Should Care5:103Swing House5:494Can't We Be Friends3:375This Time the Dream's on Me7:556Polka Dots and Moonbeams4:367East St Louis Toodle-Oo4:108Sweet and Lovely9:389Poor Butterfly4:0010A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing2:4411Mainstream2:5512A Single Petal of a Rose3:00— · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 43:29
A1Softly as in a Morning Sunrise4:44A2My Funny Valentine5:26A3Tickle Toe7:41A4Drop Me Off at Harlem4:14B1In a Sentimental Mood3:39B2Blues on the Closet7:50B3Crazy He Calls Me4:55B4Cottontail5:00
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Joe Temperley head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 12 | 88.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 27 | 60th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra(band) | — | present | bass clarinet |
| Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra(band) | — | present | baritone saxophone |
| Kenny Graham’s Afro Cubists(band) | — | present | |
| The Duke Ellington Legacy Band(band) | — | present | baritone saxophone,bass clarinet |
| Gerry Mulligan and His Orchestra(band) | — | present |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Temperly_and_Gary_Smulyan.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9d04cfca-44c6-40b0-bdc9-e942601662cbdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9d04cfca-44c6-40b0-bdc9-e942601662cbcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1283687genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1283687seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Temperleybiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Temperley
Why this artist is in the database
- List of Scottish musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Ed Newman · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1283687 · MusicBrainz: 9d04cfca-44c6-40b0-bdc9-e942601662cb
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