Teddy Wilson

(born Nov. 24, 1912, Austin, Texas, U.S. — died July 31, 1986, New Britain, Conn.) U.S. pianist and bandleader. He began recording as the leader of small groups in 1935. These recordings, often featuring vocalist Billie Holiday, are classics of small-group swing. Wilson joined Benny Goodman's trio in 1936. After 1940 he worked primarily as a leader of small ensembles or as a solo pianist, showcasing his tasteful and refined style. He was one of the most influential pianists of his time.

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Teddy Wilson

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Genres: Jazz

Biography

Teddy Wilson was the definitive swing pianist, a solid and impeccable soloist whose smooth and steady style was more accessible to the general public than Earl Hines or Art Tatum. He picked up early experience playing with Speed Webb in 1929 and appearing on some Louis Armstrong recordings in 1933. Discovered by John Hammond, Willie joined Benny Carter's band and recorded with the Chocolate Dandies later that year. In 1935, he began leading a series of classic small-group recordings with swing all-stars which on many occasions featured Billie Holiday. That was also the year that an informal jam session with Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa resulted in the formation of the Benny Goodman Trio (Lionel Hampton made the group a quartet the following year). Although he was a special added attraction rather than a regular member of the orchestra, Wilson's public appearances with Goodman broke important ground in the long struggle against segregation.

Between his own dates, many recordings with Benny Goodman's small groups and a series of piano solos, Teddy Wilson recorded a large number of gems during the second half of the 1930s. He left B.G. in 1939 to form his own big band but, despite some fine records, it folded in 1940. Wilson led a sextet at Cafe Society during 1940-1944, taught music at Juilliard during the summers of 1945-1952, appeared on radio shows, and recorded regularly with a trio, as a soloist and with pick-up groups in addition to having occasional reunions with Goodman. Teddy Wilson's style never changed, and he played very similar in 1985 to how he sounded in 1935; no matter, the enthusiasm and solid sense of swing were present up until the end. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

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Teddy Wilson

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For other uses, see Ted Wilson (disambiguation).

Teddy Wilson
Teddy Wilson at the Turkish Embassy, Washington, D.C., 1940 © William P. Gottlieb
Background information
Birth name	Theodore Shaw Wilson
Born	November 24, 1912(1912-11-24) Austin, Texas
Died	July 31, 1986(1986-07-31) (aged 73) Hillsdale, New Jersey
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Pianist
Instruments	Piano
Associated acts	Louis Armstrong Earl Hines Billie Holiday Lester Young Lena Horne Benny Goodman

Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson (November 24, 1912 - July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist whose sophisticated and elegant style was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Contents

1 Biography
2 Select discography
3 References
4 External links

Biography

Wilson was born in Austin, Texas, on November 24, 1912. He studied piano and violin at Tuskegee Institute located in Tuskegee, Alabama. After working with the Lawrence "Speed" Webb band, Louis Armstrong, and Earl Hines in Hines's Grand Terrace Cafe Orchestra, Wilson joined Benny Carter's Chocolate Dandies in 1933. In 1935, he joined the Benny Goodman Trio consisting of Goodman, Wilson, and drummer Gene Krupa (which later expanded to the Benny Goodman Quartet with the addition of Lionel Hampton). The trio performed during the big band's intermissions. By joining the trio, Wilson became the first black musician to perform in public with a previously all-white jazz group.

Noted jazz producer and writer John Hammond was instrumental in getting Wilson a contract with Brunswick in 1935 to record hot swing arrangements of the popular songs of the day. He recorded fifty hit records with various singers such as Lena Horne, Helen Ward, and Billie Holiday. During these years, he also took part in many highly regarded sessions with a wide range of important swing musicians such as Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers, Red Norvo, Buck Clayton, and Ben Webster.

Wilson formed his own short-lived big band in 1939 then led a sextet at Café Society from 1940 to 1944. He was dubbed the "Marxist Mozart" by Howard "Stretch" Johnson due to his support for left-wing causes (he performed in benefit concerts for The New Masses journal and for Russian War Relief and chaired the Artists' Committee to elect Benjamin J. Davis).^[1] In the 1950s, he taught at the Juilliard School. Wilson also appeared as himself in the 1955 motion picture entitled The Benny Goodman Story.

Wilson lived quietly in suburban Hillsdale, New Jersey, throughout the 1960s and 1970s where he performed as a soloist and with pick-up groups until the final years of his life.^[2]

Teddy Wilson died in Hillsdale, New Jersey, on July 31, 1986; he was 73. Wilson is buried at Fairview Cemetery in New Britain, Connecticut.

Select discography

Wilson at a Benny Goodman rehearsal, 1950

1949: Teddy Wilson Featuring Billie Holiday
1956: I Got Rhythm
1956: Pres and Teddy
1959: "Gypsy" in Jazz
1972: With Billie in Mind
1972: Moonglow (Black Lion)
1973: Runnin’ Wild (Recorded live at the Montreux Festival) (Black Lion)
1976: Live at Santa Tecla
1980: Teddy Wilson Trio Revisits the Goodman Years

Select appearances:

1933-1942: Billie Holiday, The Quintessential Billie Holiday (Volumes 1-9)
1935-1939: Benny Goodman, The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings
1938: Benny Goodman, The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert

References

^ Denning, Michael: The Cultural Front: The Laboring of American Culture in the Twentieth Century (New York: Verso, 1996), 317.
^ Staff. "Jersey Is Home To Teddy Wilson; One Son Is a Teacher", The New York Times, July 1, 1973. Accessed April 9, 2011. "Mr. Wilson settled in Hillsdale ten years ago, when he and his present wife, were married."

External links

Allmusic

Persondata
Name	Wilson, Teddy
Alternative names
Short description	Jazz pianist
Date of birth	November 24, 1912
Place of birth
Date of death	July 31, 1986
Place of death

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