1. Once upon a Time (Chocolate Dandies, Oct. 10, 1933)
2. What a Little Moonlight Can Do (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, July 2, 1935)
3. Breakin’ in a Pair of Shoes (Teddy Wilson [solo piano], Jan. 17, 1936)
4. My Melancholy Baby (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Mar. 17, 1936)
5. All My Life (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Mar. 17, 1936)
6. More Than You Know (Benny Goodman Trio, Apr. 24, 1936)
7. Mary Had a Little Lamb (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, May 14, 1936)
8. Sailing (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Nov. 19, 1936)
9. Handful of Keys (Benny Goodman Quartet, July 30, 1937)
*10. Don’t Blame Me (Teddy Wilson [solo piano], Nov. 12, 1937)
11. Sweet Lorraine (Benny Goodman Trio, Mar. 25, 1938)
12. If I Were You (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Apr. 29, 1938)
13. Now It Can Be Told (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, July 29, 1938)
14. Say It with a Kiss (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Nov. 9, 1938)
15. They Say (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Nov. 9, 1938)
16. Jumpin’ for Joy (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, June 29, 1939)
17. Wham (Be Bop Boom Bam) - (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Dec. 11, 1939)
18. Jumpin’ on the Blacks and Whites (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Sep. 12, 1939
19. 711 (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Jan. 18, 1940)
20. Laughing at Life (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, June 7, 1940)
21. Embraceable You (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Dec. 9, 1940)
22. I Never Knew (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Dec. 9, 1940)
23. Oh! Lady Be Good (Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, Dec. 9, 1940)
24. China Boy (Teddy Wilson Trio, Apr. 11, 1941)
*While Teddy Wilson did, indeed, record the tune Don’t Blame Me as a solo in 1937, this is not it. Instead it isI’ve Got a Feeling I’m Falling, and unless my ears totally deceive me, this is the version by the Earl Hines Trio (Hines, piano, with Fats Waller's regulars Al Casey on guitar and
Oscar Pettiford on bass, recorded February 26, 1944)—a rather strange faux pas.
Personnel:
The Chocolate Dandies
Max Kaminsky – Trumpet
Benny Carter – Trumpet, alto sax, arranger
Floyd O’Brien – Trombone
Chu Berry – Tenor sax
Teddy Wilson – Piano
Lawrence Lucie – Guitar
Ernest Hill – Bass
Sidney Catlett - Drums
The Benny Goodman Trio
Benny Goodman – Clarinet (tracks 6 and 11)
Teddy Wilson – Piano (tracks 6 and 11)
Gene Krupa – Drums (track 6)
Dave Tough – Drums (track11)
The Benny Goodman Quartet
Benny Goodman – Clarinet
Teddy Wilson – Piano
Gene Krupa – Drums
Lionel Hampton – Vibraphone
The Teddy Wilson Trio
Teddy Wilson – Piano
Al Hall – Bass
J. C. Heard – Drums
The Teddy Wilson Orchestras
Too many musicians to list—all given in the booklet
Vocalists:
Billie Holiday (tracks 2, 14, 15, and 20)
Ella Fitzgerald (tracks 4 and 5)
Roy Eldridge (track 7)
Nan Wynn (track 13)
J. C. Heard (track 17)
Helen Ward (track 21)
This compilation covers perhaps the most productive period of Wilson’s recording life, when he was at his peak as a performer, although he continued to
record through the end of 1968. Born in Austin, Texas, on November 24, 1912, Teddy Wilson studied piano and violin at Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee,
Alabama. His first recording was as a member of Benny Carter’s Chocolate Dandies in 1933, one track from that session, Once upon a Time, being the
first on this CD. His first recording under his own name was a solo effort on the small specialist Meritt label in May of 1934. His last recording was made
in the Metronome Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark, in December of 1968, where he was accompanied by three Danish musicians.
In the 1930’s he recorded frequently with the Benny Goodman Trio and Quartet, reuniting with Benny Goodman on several occasions, including a tour of the
U.S.S.R. in 1962 and the Newport Festival in 1973, both recorded, and a Carnegie Hall concert in 1982, unrecorded. He continued to perform, both as a
soloist and as leader of a trio consisting of himself and two of his sons, Theodore Wilson (bass) and Steven Wilson (drums), until shortly before his death
in 1986.
Wilson was perhaps the quintessential swing piano player, and among others he played withRoy Eldridge,Charlie Shavers,Red Norvo,Buck Clayton, and Ben Webster at one time or another. However, when he began playing with the
Benny Goodman Trio in 1935 and officially joined it in 1936, he began to gain wide recognition that was cemented by the recordings put out by the Goodman
Trio and Quartet in 1936 and following years. Regrettably only a few tracks by these groups appear on this CD, namely More Than You Know and Sweet Lorraine by the trio and Handful of Keys by the quartet.
Other than on his own solo recordings, Wilson fared best in small group settings where his contributions of backing for others and his own solo efforts
were clearly central. He always leaned toward restraint, not attempting to dominate or overpower any other player. The small group setting allowed for
this, and one can enjoy his explorations of the full keyboard and his runs up and down its length, as well as his stride-influenced left hand to accompany
the light melodic phrases of the right, nicely illustrated on the last track, China Boy. There is an overall delicacy to his phrasing. This is
also apparent in his accompaniments to the singers. He was one of Holiday’s favorite accompanists and there are some four tracks here that illustrate his
sympathetic obbligatos behind her.
While the majority of the tracks on this CD list “Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra,” only a few tracks feature big bands of ten or more pieces. Most are by
sextets, septets, or the occasional octet, and as one will see from the notes given in the accompanying booklet, his groups contained some prominent names
in the musical world, musicians such as Harry James, Bobby Hackett, Johnny Hodges, and Lester Young, to mention only a few. While very listenable, these
aggregations lack the drive of other bands of the period, such as Goodman’s or Webb’s, for example. Wilson himself seemed to recognize this since the big
band was short-lived, and after 1945 he no longer recorded with an “orchestra” but as soloist or with small groups, most of which were trios.
Although influenced considerably by Tatum and Hines, among others, Wilson never attained their statures. Despite his forays into band leading and his
heading up trios under his own name, he will probably always be remembered most for his work with the Goodman small groups—and that is not a bad memorial
at all.
Bert Thompson
CD Reviews
Acrobat FABCD357
