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Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson (November 24 1912–July 31 1986) was a jazz pianist
Jazz piano

Jazz piano is the use of an acoustic piano or electric piano as an improvising instrument in a jazz group or jazz fusion ensemble. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings....
 from the United States born in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Travis County, Texas. Situated in Central Texas and part of the Southwestern United States, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 16th-largest in the United States....
. His sophisticated and elegant style graced the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong

Louis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer.Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an innovative cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performers....
, Lena Horne
Lena Horne

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne is an American singer and actress. She has recorded and performed extensively, independently and with other jazz notables, including Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Benny Carter, and Billy Eckstine....
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman

Benjamin David Goodman, was an United States jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing ", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
 and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as "Jazz royalty" and the "First Lady of Song", is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century....
.

Wilson studied piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 and violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
 at Tuskegee Institute. After working in the Lawrence "Speed" Webb band, with Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong

Louis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer.Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an innovative cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performers....
 and also 'understudying' Earl Hines
Earl Hines

Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz"....
 is Hines's Grand Terrace Cafe Orchestra, Wilson joined Benny Carter
Benny Carter

Bennett Lester Carter was an United States jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King ....
's Chocolate Dandies in 1933.






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Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson (November 24 1912–July 31 1986) was a jazz pianist
Jazz piano

Jazz piano is the use of an acoustic piano or electric piano as an improvising instrument in a jazz group or jazz fusion ensemble. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings....
 from the United States born in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Travis County, Texas. Situated in Central Texas and part of the Southwestern United States, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 16th-largest in the United States....
. His sophisticated and elegant style graced the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong

Louis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer.Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an innovative cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performers....
, Lena Horne
Lena Horne

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne is an American singer and actress. She has recorded and performed extensively, independently and with other jazz notables, including Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Benny Carter, and Billy Eckstine....
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman

Benjamin David Goodman, was an United States jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing ", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
 and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as "Jazz royalty" and the "First Lady of Song", is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century....
.

Wilson studied piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 and violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
 at Tuskegee Institute. After working in the Lawrence "Speed" Webb band, with Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong

Louis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer.Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an innovative cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performers....
 and also 'understudying' Earl Hines
Earl Hines

Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz"....
 is Hines's Grand Terrace Cafe Orchestra, Wilson joined Benny Carter
Benny Carter

Bennett Lester Carter was an United States jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King ....
's Chocolate Dandies in 1933. In 1935 he joined the Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman

Benjamin David Goodman, was an United States jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing ", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
 Trio (which consisted of Goodman, Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa

Gene Krupa was an influentialUnited States jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style....
, later expanded to the Benny Goodman Quartet with the addition of Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players....
). 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.

The noted jazz writer and producer John Hammond
John Hammond

John Hammond may refer to:* John A. Hammond , Canadian painter* John Brown Hammond, believed in and used violent action to try to bring about alcohol prohibition in the United States...
 was instrumental in getting Wilson a contract with Brunswick, starting in 1935, to record hot swing arrangements of the popular songs of the day, with the growing jukebox trade in mind. He recorded fifty hit records with various singers such as Lena Horne
Lena Horne

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne is an American singer and actress. She has recorded and performed extensively, independently and with other jazz notables, including Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Benny Carter, and Billy Eckstine....
 and Helen Ward
Helen Ward

Helen Ward may refer to:* Helen Ward , American singer of swing ballads* Helen Ward , London-based divorce lawyer...
, including many of Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
's greatest successes. During these years he also took part in many highly regarded sessions with a wide range of important swing
Swing (genre)

Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States....
 musicians, such as Lester Young
Lester Young

Lester Willis Young , nicknamed 'Prez', was an United States jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He was also known to play the trumpet, violin, and drums....
, Roy Eldridge
Roy Eldridge

Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an United States jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the Swing Era and a precursor of bebop....
, Charlie Shavers
Charlie Shavers

Charlie James Shavers was a Swing era jazz trumpet player who played at one time or another with Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmy Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams and Billie Holiday....
, Red Norvo
Red Norvo

Red Norvo was one of jazz's early vibraphone, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone and later the vibraphone as viable jazz instruments....
, Buck Clayton
Buck Clayton

Buck Clayton was an United States of America jazz trumpet player, fondly remembered for being a leading member of Count Basie 'Old Testament' orchestra and leader of mainstream orientated jam session recordings in the 1950s....
 and Ben Webster
Ben Webster

Benjamin Francis Webster , aka "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential United States jazz tenor saxophone. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young....
.

Wilson formed his own short-lived big band
Big band

A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the swing from the early 1930s until the late 1940s....
 in 1939, then led a sextet at Cafe Society
Café Society

Caf? society was the collective description for the so-called "beautiful people" and "bright young things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in Paris, London, Rome or New York City, beginning in the late 1800s....
 from 1940 to 1944. He was known to many as the "Marxist Mozart." In the 1950s he taught at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School

The Juilliard School, located on the Upper West Side in New York City, is a performing arts music school. It is informally identified as simply Juilliard, and trains in dance, drama, and music....
. Wilson can be seen appearing as himself in the motion picture The Benny Goodman Story
The Benny Goodman Story

The Benny Goodman Story is a biopic film starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed, directed by Valentine Davies and released by Universal Studios....
 (1955).

Wilson lived quietly in suburban Hillsdale, NJ in the 1960s and 1970s. He performed as a soloist, and with pick-up groups until the final years of his life. Teddy Wilson died on July 31, 1986.

Select discography

  • Teddy Wilson Featuring Billie Holiday (1949)
  • I Got Rhythm (1956)
  • Pres and Teddy
    Pres and Teddy

    Pres and Teddy is a 1956 jazz album by The Lester Young and Teddy Wilson Quartet. Originally released by Verve Records, it has subsequently been reissued on CD by Verve, Universal Music Group and Lonehill Jazz....
     (1956)
  • With Billie in Mind (1972)
  • Teddy Wilson Trio Revisits the Goodman Years (1980)