Teddy Wilson
| Teddy Wilson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Teddy Wilson at the Turkish Embassy, Washington, D.C., 1940 © William P. Gottlieb |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Theodore Shaw Wilson |
| Born | November 24, 1912 Austin, Texas |
| Died | July 31, 1986 (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.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] Select discography
- 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
[edit] 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."
