2003 Interviews

Today in Jazz

Jack Teagarden, Trombone, 1905, Vernon, TX

Jack's mother, Helen, a pianist, gave all four of her children their start in  music.  She was not a particularly  jazz-oriented pianist, but Jack, Norma, Charlie, and Cub all owe their start in jazz to their mother.  Jack's first instrument was the piano and then the baritone horn before finally settling on the trombone when he was around ten years   He began playing professionally when in his mid teens, working mainly in his part of the country with local bands, including Peck Kelley's Bad Boys, and Jack Ross's  Jazz Bandits, all during the mid '20s.  He then decided to go to New York where he played briefly with Wingy Manon's band..  He worked as a freelance for a while and then joined Ben Pollack's band in 1928, though he still continued to work and record with other musicians such as Red Nichols, Louis Armstrong, and Eddie Condon.  At the end of the 1930s  Jack became a member o f  Paul Whiteman's popular orchestra.  During this period he continued working with other musicians in various combos.  He never made much money with these groups, but he certainly loved the music.   Finally, in the early '40s, he was forced to  declare bankruptcy.  That was the end of his small group ventures, and also, by this time he ended his association with Whiteman.  He led a sextet from the mid '40s when he joined the first Louis Armstrong All Stars.  In 1951 Teagarden left his great friend Louie, and formed his own dixieland group, also called The Allstars.  His group included people like Dick Wellstood, Don Ewell, Max Kaminsky, and his brother Charlie.  Teagarden is considered by many critics and writers  to have been the finest of all jazz trombonists.  However, his style was so personal that he had few followers, and founded no school.  Because he grew up in southwestern towns, containing large black populations, he was far more familiar, than most white jazz players with black spirituals, work songs, and the blues, and he had a big advantage over most other white trombonists.  As a consequence Jack was one of the first white jazz musicians to master the blues, and probably the first to make use of  blue notes.  He had the ability to play in the upper register of  the trombone, and his cloudy tone, at first relatively rough,  grew much smoother as he matured.   Because of his deceptively simple style, few listeners realized how technically capable he was.  Teagarden is also considered one of the finest jazz /blues vocalists.  His singing was characterized by a lazy quality, and his husky voice was a natural for the blues.   Jack Teagarden died in 1964.

Bennie Maupin, Saxophone, 1940, Detroit, MI

Bennie's first instrument was the clarinet, which he started at about the age of ten.  He took up saxophone in high school, and next attended the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts.  He probably gained most of his jazz education by working with musicians such Yusef Lateef, Alice McLeod (later Coltrane), Hugh Lawson, and Barry Harris, all in the Detroit area.  In 1963 Bennie made his move to New York and played in soul groups,  rock groups,  and calypso bands.  In the mid to late '60s he played with Roy Haynes and Horace Silver.  Through contact with Jack DeJohnette, Bennie joined the studio group for the Mile Davis' album " Bitches Brew".  Also during the late '60s he played extensively with groups led by McCoy Tyner and Lee Morgan.  In the early '70s he replaced Joe Henderson in Herbie Hancock's sextet, remaining with the group for most of the decade.  After settling in Los Angeles, Maupin has both performed and recorded as a leader.  A strong soloist, he is probably best known for his work on saxello and clarinet.

Dinah Washington, Singer, 1924, Tuscaloosa, AL

Dinah grew up in Chicago where, at a very early age, she played piano and directed the choir at her church.  From her mid teens Dinah worked alternately in nightclubs as a singer and pianist, and in Sallie Martin's gospel choir.  It was at the Garrick Stage Bar where she worked that the bartender gave her the name " Dinah Washington".  Her real name was Ruth Jones.  It was at the Garrick Stage Bar that she was heard by Lionel Hampton, for whom she went to work for three years beginning in 1943.  Having recorded  several blues hits in 1943, she enjoyed a successful solo career from 1946 when she left Hampton.  Dinah's singing was characterized by high-pitched, penetrating sounds and precise enunciation.  Like Ray Charles, she could rework any type of material to her own distinct style.  From 1949 to 1955 her rhythm-and-blues, classic blues, pop, and country recordings consistently reached the top ten on the rhythm-and-blues charts in the U.S.  "What A Difference A Day Makes" (1959), one of her biggest hits,  marked her breakthrough into the general pop market where she obtained several other gold records, some in duet with the singer Brook Benton.  Dinah died a premature and tragic death from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.  Dinah Washington died in 1963.

Jerry Dodgion, Saxophone, 1932, Richmond, CA

August 2008

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