Died On This Date (July 31, 1986) Teddy Wilson / Respected Jazz Pianist
themusicsover Teddy Wilson
November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986
Teddy Wilson was a much respected jazz pianist who came from the great music city of Austin, TX. His smooth-as-silk style could be heard on recordings by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday. One of Wilson’s first professional gigs was playing alongside Bennny Goodman and Gene Krupa in the Benny Goodman Trio, later a quartet with the addition of Lionel Hampton. When he joined the trio, Wilson became the first known African-American to perform professionally in public with a previously all-white group. With the help of legendary producer, John Hammond, Wilson recorded some 50 hit records throughout the late ’30s. By the ’40s, he was leading his own sextet, and by the ’50s, he was teaching at Julliard. Wilson spent the last couple of decades of his life quietly enjoying his life close to home until his passing of natural causes on 1986.
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