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Teddy Wilson
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Teddy Wilson |
| Artist: Teddy Wilson |
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Dick Wellstood,
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Influenced By:
Followers:
Joe Bushkin,
Dave McKenna,
John Bunch,
Paul Leu ,
George Winston,
Marlowe Morris,
Thelonious Monk,
Nat King Cole,
Skitch Henderson,
Claude Williamson,
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Lionel Hampton,
Ray Bryant,
Dave Brubeck,
Toshiko Akiyoshi,
Robert Carroll,
Chris Hopkins ,
Bobby Henderson,
Luqman Hamza
Performed Songs By:
Benny Goodman,
Al Sherman ,
Francis Wheeler ,
Abner Silver ,
Sydney Robin ,
Sidney Mitchell ,
Morgan Lewis ,
Clifford Grey ,
Harry Revel,
Jack Strachey,
Harry Link,
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Matty Malneck,
Sam M. Lewis,
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Billy Strayhorn,
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Ted Snyder ,
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Frank Signorelli,
Vincent Rose,
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Cole Porter,
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Jack Palmer,
Al J. Neiburg,
Johnny Mercer,
Al Lewis ,
Turner Layton,
Gus Kahn,
Isham Jones,
Will Hudson,
Edward Heyman,
Lorenz Hart,
Otto Harbach,
Nancy Hamilton ,
Oscar Hammerstein II,
Jesse Greer ,
Johnny Green,
Bud Green,
Ira Gershwin,
Arthur Freed,
David Franklin ,
Dorothy Fields,
Sammy Fain,
Duke Ellington,
Al Dubin,
Peter de Rose,
Eddie DeLange,
Henry Creamer,
J. Fred Coots,
Irving Caesar,
Johnny Burke,
Gus Arnheim,
Fred E. Ahlert,
Jerome Kern,
Andy Razaf,
Dorothy Parker ,
Vernon Duke,
Harold Arlen,
Vincent Youmans,
Jimmy McHugh,
Chick Webb,
Edgar Sampson,
Irving Mills,
Lionel Hampton,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Eubie Blake,
Hoagy Carmichael,
Irving Berlin,
George Gershwin
Worked With:
Gene Krupa,
Allan Reuss,
Billie Holiday,
Benny Carter,
Louis Armstrong,
Cozy Cole,
Lester Young,
Ben Webster,
John Kirby,
Roy Eldridge,
The Chocolate Dandies
Formal Connection With:
- Born: November 24, 1912, Austin, TX
- Died: July 31, 1986, New Britain, CT
- Active: '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Piano
- Representative Albums: "Central Avenue Blues," "With Billie in Mind," "Teddy Wilson and His All-Stars"
- Representative Songs: "China Boy," "Ain't Misbehavin'," "When You're Smiling"
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, All Music Guide
| Discography: Teddy Wilson |
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| Wikipedia: Teddy Wilson |
| Teddy Wilson | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Theodore Shaw Wilson |
| Born | November 24, 1912 |
| Origin | Austin, Texas |
| Died | July 31, 1986 (aged 73) |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations | Pianist |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Associated acts | Louis Armstrong Billie Holiday Lester Young Lena Horne Benny Goodman |
Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was a jazz pianist from the United States born in Austin, Texas. His sophisticated and elegant style graced the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. He is considered one of the most influential jazz pianists of all time.
Contents |
Biography
Wilson studied piano and violin at Tuskegee Institute. After working in the Lawrence "Speed" Webb band, with Louis Armstrong and also "understudying" 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 (which consisted of Goodman, Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa, 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.
The noted jazz writer and producer John Hammond was instrumental in getting Wilson a contract with Brunswick, starting in 1935, to record hot swing arrangements of the popular songs of the day, with the growing jukebox trade in mind. He recorded fifty hit records with various singers such as Lena Horne and Helen Ward, including many of Billie Holiday's greatest successes. 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 Cafe 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 can be seen appearing as himself in the motion picture The Benny Goodman Story (1955).
Wilson lived quietly in suburban Hillsdale, NJ in the 1960s and 1970s. He performed as a soloist, and with pick-up groups until the final years of his life. Teddy Wilson died on July 31, 1986.
Discography
- Teddy Wilson Featuring Billie Holiday (1949)
- I Got Rhythm (1956)
- Pres and Teddy (1956)
- With Billie in Mind (1972)
- Teddy Wilson Trio Revisits the Goodman Years (1980)
References
- ^ Denning, Michael: The Cultural Front: The Laboring of American Culture in the Twentieth Century (New York: Verso, 1996), 317.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Learn More
 | Jazz Legends, Part 1 (Music Film) |
| Cole Porter Classics (1977 Album by Teddy Wilson) |
| The Best of Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra (2000 Album by Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra) |
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 | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Teddy Wilson". Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Jazz Legends, Part 1 (Music Film)
- Cole Porter Classics (1977 Album by Teddy Wilson)
- The Best of Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra (2000 Album by Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra)
- Lionel Hampton Presents Teddy Wilson (1973 Album by Teddy Wilson)
- Three Little Words [Original] (1976 Album by Teddy Wilson)
- The Noble Art of Teddy Wilson [ASV] (2002 Album by Teddy Wilson)
- Teddy Wilson in 4 Hands (2007 Album by Chris Hopkins)
- Hamp's Blues (1974 Album by Lionel Hampton)
- The Alternative Takes, Vol. 1: 1934-1941 (2001 Album by Teddy Wilson)
- Gene Krupa [Clef] (1965 Album by Gene Krupa)
- Statements and Improvisations (1934-1932) (1932 Album by Teddy Wilson)
- Time After Time (1945 Album by Teddy Wilson)
- His Piano and His Orchestra [ASV/Living Era] (1994 Album by Teddy Wilson with Billie Holiday)
- 1947-1950 (2002 Album by Teddy Wilson)
