JACK
TEAGARDEN 1905 - 1964
This page is updated:
June 27, 2008 10:14 PM
Jack
'The Gate' Teagarden
One of the classic giants of jazz, Jack Teagarden was not only the
top pre-bop trombonist (playing his instrument with the ease of
a trumpeter) but one of the best jazz singers too. He was such a
fine musician that younger brother Charlie (an excellent trumpeter)
was always overshadowed. Jack started on piano at age five (his
mother Helen was a ragtime pianist), switched to baritone horn,
and finally took up trombone when he was ten. - Teagarden worked
in the Southwest in a variety of territory bands (most notably with
the legendary pianist Peck Kelley) and then caused a sensation when
he came to New York in 1928. His daring solos with Ben Pollack caused
Glenn Miller to de-emphasize his own playing with the band, and
during the late-'20s/early Depression era, "Mr. T." recorded
frequently with many groups including units headed by Roger Wolfe
Kahn, Eddie Condon, Red Nichols, and Louis Armstrong ("Knockin'
a Jug"). His versions of "Basin Street Blues" and
"Beale Street Blues" (songs that would remain in his repertoire
for the remainder of his career) were definitive. Teagarden, who
was greatly admired by Tommy Dorsey, would have been a logical candidate
for fame in the swing era but he made a strategic error. In late
1933, when it looked as if jazz would never catch on commercially,
he signed a five-year contract with Paul Whiteman. Although Whiteman's
Orchestra did feature Teagarden now and then (and he had a brief
period in 1936 playing with a small group from the band, the Three
T's, with his brother Charlie and Frankie Trumbauer), the contract
effectively kept Teagarden from going out on his own and becoming
a star. It certainly prevented him from leading what would eventually
became the Bob Crosby Orchestra. - In 1939, Jack Teagarden was finally
"free" and he soon put together a big band that would
last until 1946. However, it was rather late to be organizing a
new orchestra (the competition was fierce) and, although there were
some good musical moments, none of the sidemen became famous, the
arrangements lacked their own musical personality, and by the time
it broke up Teagarden was facing bankruptcy. The trombonist, however,
was still a big name (he had fared quite well in the 1940 Bing Crosby
film The Birth of the Blues) and he had many friends. Crosby helped
Teagarden straighten out his financial problems, and from 1947-1951
he was a star sideman with Louis Armstrong's All-Stars; their collaborations
on "Rocking Chair" are classic. After
leaving Armstrong, Teagarden was a leader of a steadily working
sextet throughout the remainder of his career, playing Dixieland
with such talented musicians as brother Charlie, trumpeters Jimmy
McPartland, Don Goldie, Max Kaminsky, and (during a 1957 European
tour) pianist Earl Hines. Teagarden toured the Far East during 1958-1959,
teamed up one last time with Eddie Condon for a television show/recording
session in 1961, and had a heartwarming (and fortunately recorded)
musical reunion with Charlie, sister / pianist Norma, and his mother
at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival. He died from a heart attack
four months later and has yet to be replaced.
~ Scott Yanow
