Earl Turbinton

Earl Turbinton Jr., also known as Naim Akban Ben-Tur and The African Cowboy (September 23, 1941 – August 3, 2007), was an American saxophonist associated for decades within the music scene of New Orleans.

Though it closed after a short time, Turbinton had intended for it to serve a place in the city's musical life analogous to that of Preservation Hall, but for newer jazz styles.

[1] Turbinton worked extensively in soul and R&B idioms in the 1960s, playing studio dates in New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

He played alongside his brother, Willie Tee, in the funk group The Gaturs, and toured with Jerry Butler, the Four Tops, B.

Turbinton took the name "The African Cowboy" in the 1980s as a protest against Reagan administration attempts to cut federal arts funding.