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Teddy Wilson




  Img Replace this image malesvg
  Background non_vocal_instrumentalist
  Birth Name Theodore Shaw Wilson
  Origin Austin, Texas
  Instrument Piano
  Genre Jazz
  Occupation Pianist
  Associated Acts Louis Armstrong <br> Lena Horne <br> Benny Goodman


Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson ( November 24 1912July 31 1986 ) was a Jazz Pianist from the United States born in Austin, Texas . His sophisticated and elegant style graced the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong , Lena Horne , Benny Goodman , Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald .

Wilson studied Piano and Violin at Tuskegee Institute . After working in the Speed Webb and Louis Armstrong bands, he joined Benny Carter 's Chocolate Dandies in 1933. In 1935 he joined the Benny Goodman Trio (which consisted of Goodman, Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa , later expanded to the Benny Goodman Quartet with the addition of Lionel Hampton ). 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.

In the 1930s and 1940s he recorded fifty hit records with various singers such as Lena Horne and Helen Ward , including many of Billie Holiday 's greatest successes. During these years he also took part in many highly regarded sessions with a wide range of important Swing musicians, such as Lester Young , Roy Eldridge , Charlie Shavers , Red Norvo , Buck Clayton and Ben Webster .

Wilson formed his own short-lived . Wilson can be seen appearing as himself in the motion picture ''The Benny Goodman Story'' (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.


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