Teddy Wilson Talks Jazz: The Autobiography of Teddy Wilson PDF
Preview Teddy Wilson Talks Jazz: The Autobiography of Teddy Wilson
Teddy Wilson Talks Jazz This page intentionally left blank BAYOUJAZZLIVES TEDDY WILSON TALKS JAZZ TEDDY WILSON WithARIE LIGTHART and HUMPHREY VAN LOO Foreword by BENNY GOODMAN CONTINUUM NEW YORK • LONDON 2001 The Continuum International Publishing Group 370 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017 The Continuum International Publishing Group The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX First published in Great Britain in 1996 by Cassell by arrangement with Bayou Press Ltd © 1996 the Estate of Teddy Wilson Recording Chronology © 1996 Howard Rye All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wilson, Teddy, 1912- Teddy Wilson talks jazz / by Teddy Wilson, with Arie Ligthart and Humphrey van Loo. p. cm. — (Bayou jazz lives) Includes discography and indexes. ISBN 0-8264-5797-5 (pbk.) 1. Wilson, Teddy, 1912-2. Jazz musicians-United States-Biography. I. Ligthart, Arie. II. Van Loo, Humphrey. III. Title. IV. Series. ML417.W52A32001 786.2'165'092"dc21 [B] 2001047040 Contents Publisher's Note vii Foreword by Benny Goodman ix Introductory Note xi 1 Early Beginnings 1 2 Off To Detroit 9 3 Lady Day 22 4 The Music Goes Round 30 5 Swing Is King 37 6 Into Films 55 7 To Russia With Jazz 61 8 A Band Of My Own 71 9 Europe Here I Come 87 10 Handful Of Keys 98 11 Whither Jazz? 118 Recording Chronology 127 Index 173 This page intentionally left blank Publisher's Note (from 1996 Cdssell hardback edition) This book was originally written between 1976 and 1978, and was to have been published during Teddy Wilson's lifetime. The original publisher then underwent a change of policy, and the book never appeared. For many years up to and fol- lowing Teddy's death in 1986, Arie Ligthart sought a new publisher, and with the help of pianist Martin Litton, the book was originally announced by Bayou Press to appear in 1991. As so long had passed since the book was written, it was agreed to delay the book slightly, so that the fairly slen- der manuscript could be augmented by material from Charles Fox's BBC interviews with Teddy, which took place the week after one of the main interviewing sessions with Ligthart and van Loo, and which covered a number of sub- jects obviously fresh in Teddy's mind, from a slightly differ- ent perspective. Charles's death in May 1991 further delayed matters, and we are grateful to Howard Rye for integrating this material with the story, and for preparing the compre- hensive recording chronology, based on an original compila- tion by Gerard Bielderman. A number of further delays held the book up in production and we are glad that it will now appear under our arrangement with Cassell. Despite the pas- sage of time, we have preserved Teddy's words exactly as they were set down in the 1970s, and so there are some obvi- ous anachronisms, notably in the comments on South Africa and the former Soviet Union, that reflect the views of the time. Alyn Shipton Bayou Press 1996 This page intentionally left blank Foreword By Benny Goodman This is a foreword, but not an introduction, because Teddy Wilson does not need one. Through his records and personal appearances, he is well known to millions of jazz fans throughout the world. His superb music has already spoken for him, but musically eloquent though he is, it may well be asked: "Who is the man behind the music?" Teddy Wilson is of a retiring disposition. Publicity stunts and cavorting before the footlights to gain the favors of the public are not for him. I can speak with authority, because of course I worked with him during an important era in jazz music from July 1935, after I met him at a party given by singer Mildred Bailey, until 1939, when he left me to form his own band. It was a memorable period, both for me person- ally, and for jazz. We made history not only with the big band but also with the Trio and Quartet, featuring myself, Teddy, Lionel Hampton and Gene Krupa. It was the first inter-racial music group and marked an important milestone in race rela- tions in the United States. We were not bothered ourselves, however, and to us it was the music that mattered. During that time I got to know Teddy intimately and I have retained a high respect for him both as a musician and as a person. I have gone on record as saying that my pleasure in playing with Teddy Wilson equalled the pleasure I got out of playing Mozart, and that's saying something. I've said it before and I'll say it again today. Teddy is a walking history of some of the most vital peri- ods in jazz, and fortunately he has a retentive memory. He has played as an equal with countless jazz greats and I am happy that the time has now come for a summing up, valu- able now that jazz is experiencing a revival, and valuable to posterity as an authentic document. I wish him luck and I hope the book gets the readership it deserves.
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