Cy Touff

Cyril James Touff (March 4, 1927, Chicago – January 24, 2003, Evanston, Illinois) was a jazz bass trumpeter. He was one of the few jazz musicians known as a bass trumpeter. He was also associated with West coast jazz even though he spent most of his life in Chicago.

He started on piano at age 6 and went on to play xylophone and saxophone before settling on trumpet. He served in the United States Army from 1944 to 1946 and in the military he played trombone. After the war he switched to bass trumpet and worked with Woody Herman and Sandy Mosse among others. He joined Herman's band in 1953 and in 1954-55 played with a reduced version of the band that also included Richie Kamuca. He and Mosse co-led an octet called Pieces of Eight late in the 1950s into the next decade.