Drummer Ron Turso was born July 29, 1948 in New York City, into a musical family.
His talent emerged at age 6 when he started beating out time with an old pair of wire brushes on a large tin can. By age 9, he had his first set of Ludwig and was studying seriously and gaining experience sitting in with his father Don Turso's band and his brother Turk Mauro, both saxophonists.
He spent his teens sneaking into jazz clubs to hear the greats and playing wherever he could. A stint in the army band in the late 1960's landed him a gig with Albert Mangelsdorf's avant guard group at the Berlin Jazz Festival. The 1970's found him in the Bob Ojedas big band at the Playboy Club, featuring Joe Farrell and Sal Nistico. During this time he also enjoyed playing with Joe Newman, Dakota Staton, Eddie Jefferson, Chet Baker, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Roy Eldridge, Al Grey, Jimmy Forrest, Budd Johnson and Billy Mitchell. Ron played with pop bands of the era as well, most notably with Jay and the Americans at Madison Square Garden.
In the 1980's, Ron was playing at such New York jazz clubs as the Half Note, Sweet Basil, Sonny's Place, the Blue Note and various college concerts and festivals around the U.S. and in Europe.
Ron has recorded with Billy Mitchell and has been featured on four recordings with brother Turk: The Heavyweight, Live in Paris, Love Songs, and Jazz Party. A natural swinger, he has combined the influence of Max Roach, Gene Krupa, Tony Williams and Buddy Rich into a style all his own. Ron is a superb soloist, and his ability to play breakneck tempos with amazing accuracy and endurance never fails to receive an ovation. He has super chops and can play from a whisper to a roar, making it seem effortless.
