Teddy Wilson's
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Name: Teddy Wilson
| Nee: |
Theodore Shaw Wilson |
| Born: |
24 Nov 1912 |
| Died: |
31 Jul 1986 |
| Origin: |
Austin, Texas, United States |
| Instruments: |
Piano |
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Teddy Wilson's parents were both teachers, so when they attained teaching posts at a university the family moved to Tuskegee. He studied violin and piano
finally choosing the piano as his main instrument. By 1929 he was a professional musician in Detroit playing with bands led by Speed Web. Moving to Chicago he played with Erskine Tate, Eddie Mallory, Louis Armstrong and Jimmie Noone. He also played with Art Tatum. John Hammond heard him play and persuaded him to move to New York to play in Benny Carter's band. While with Carter, Teddy Wilson recorded several records the most famous with Carter in the Chocolate Dandies, and accompanying Billie Holiday. The sessions with Billie Holiday produced works that are classed as masterpieces of jazz.
Teddy Wilson returned to Chicago and made records with Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa. By 1936 Teddy Wilson was a permanent member of the Goodman trio. He left in 1939 to form his own big band. Teddy Wilson set high standards, so high that it caused problems in the band. The band only lasted for a little less than a year. Then he formed a sextet with the same principles as before but this time it worked with the result that the band had some long residences and made some first rate recordings. Teddy Wilson returned to Goodman for a short while and for the next twelve years he spent his time working in studios, teaching and recording. In the 1960's he returned as an elder statesman of jazz and spent the rest of his life touring internationally either solo or with small bands like the 'Gentlemen of Swing' being joined by Harry 'Sweets' Edison and Benny Carter.
Teddy Wilson's role model in the early days was Earl 'Fatha' Hines, but by the mid 1930's he had firmly established his own style. He was an influential figure in the development of the jazz piano. This influence is shown in his acompaniments to both Nat 'King' Cole and Billie Holiday. His arrangements, especially for Holiday early on in her career, were important factors in both singers success.
Also his performances with Benny Goodman who never failed to extol his virtues which he did not do to a lot of other important musicians.
The failure of Teddy Wilson's big band still rankles four decades on. Although the success of his sextet in the early 1940's including players such as Benny Morton, Jimmy Hamilton, 'Big Sid' Catlett, Bill Coleman, Emmett Berry, Slam Stewart and Edmond Hall should have more than compensated him.
In later years the most important recording sessions were with Lester Young and Roy Eldridge in 1956, with Carter in Japan in 1980, and several outstanding solo albums.
Teddy Wilson was a shy retiring type of person, but when asked later on his life by an interviewer who was his favourite pianist, he grinned and said, 'I am.' |
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