Career
He has performed on various instruments but is most associated with the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet. In 1965, he moved to New York City where he performed and/or recorded with Woody Herman, 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.
Temperley played in the Broadway show Sophisticated Ladies in the 1980s, and his film soundtrack credits include Cotton Club, Biloxi Blues, Brighton Beach Memoirs, When Harry Met Sally, and Tune In Tomorrow, composed by Wynton Marsalis.
He is a guest mentor of the Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra also known as FYJO program in Scotland, co-founded by Richard Michael and Doctor Colin Thompson, which now enrolls 30 young musicians ages 7–18. Temperley has released several albums as a leader, including Nightingale (1991), Sunbeam and Thundercloud with pianist Dave McKenna (1996), With Every Breath (1998) and Double Duke (1999) with several fellow Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members.