Teddy Wilson
(Published in Kaplan New York Advantage Grade 7)
Teddy Wilson is one of the greatest pianists in the history of jazz music. He played with some of the most beloved performers of all time. He played on over fifty hit records. His style has influenced countless others. He is considered the most significant pianist of the swing era. But despite all of his impressive musical accomplishments, he will be forever remembered for something else. Teddy Wilson changed the face of American culture.
Theodore Shaw (Teddy) Wilson was born on November 24th, 1912 in Austin, TX.
His family moved to Tuskegee, Alabama when he was young, which is where he grew
up. He studied music at Tuskegee Institute and Talladega College, and he stayed
in Alabama until he and his brother moved to Detroit to join a jazz orchestra
there.
Word quickly spread about Teddy Wilson’s amazing abilities, and soon he
was playing alongside jazz legends like Louis Armstrong. In 1933 he left Chicago
for New York City. He played with various groups in New York until 1935, when
he met bandleader Benny Goodman. The two were a perfect match musically, and
would frequently get together to play informally. They would often start around
midnight after a club performance, and play together until the sun came up.
After about year of playing together, Goodman asked Wilson to officially join
his band.
Teddy Wilson, by joining the Benny Goodman Trio, made history. Benny and his
drummer, Gene Krupa, were both white. Teddy Wilson was an African American.
And by accepting the offer to join, he broke pop music’s color barrier
eleven years before Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s. In the history of
American popular music, no performing band had ever contained both whites and
African Americans.
Their first concert as a trio was at the Congress Hotel in New York City, and
it was surrounded by controversy. Nobody had ever seen an integrated musical
act, and the audience wasn’t sure what to expect. What they got was some
of the most amazing jazz they had ever heard. The music was so exciting and
brilliant that it managed to completely overshadow everything else, and they
got rave reviews.
But their life as a band was not always an easy one. Because of segregation
laws, the Benny Goodman Trio could not perform any concerts in the South. Teddy
Wilson could have been arrested if he was seen playing with his own band! Benny
Goodman was offered the chance to tour in some southern states with a different
(and white) pianist. But Goodman refused. Teddy Wilson was his pianist - and
more importantly, his friend.
Together, Benny and Teddy made over one hundred records. Teddy Wilson went on
to start his own band, and eventually was one of the first jazz musicians ever
to teach at New York’s Juilliard School. His contributions to music were
great, but his contribution to our culture and society was far greater.