JACK

This week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist with Greg Poppleton, is, following last week’s Kid Ory feature, also a tromobonist. He is credited with being the most important pre-bop trombonist in jazz, who took trombone away from Kid Ory’s tailgate style. It’s Jack Teagarden.

ONLINE

This week’s Phantom Dancer will be online after the 29 October 107.3 2SER Sydney live mix at 2ser.com.
Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney.

TEAGARDEN

Jack Teagarden was the preeminent American jazz trombone player before the bebop era of the 1940s as well as being an engaging singer.

His early career was as a sideman in the orchestras of Tommy Dorsey, Paul Whiteman and lifelong friend Louis Armstrong before branching out as a bandleader in 1939. We hear his new orchestra debuting on radio in 1939 on this week’s Phantom Dancer. After WWII he specialised in New Orleans jazz until his death.

START

Jack’s is brother Charlie and sister Norma also became professional musicians. His father was an amateur brass band trumpeter and started him on baritone horn. At age seven he had switched to trombone. His first public performances were in movie theaters, accompanying his piano playing mother.

STYLE

His trombone style was largely self-taught. He developed many unusual alternative positions and novel special effects on the instrument. He is usually considered the most innovative jazz trombone stylist of the pre-bebop era. He did much to expand the role of the instrument beyond the Kid Ory tailgate style of the early New Orleans brass bands.

CAREER

This week’s Phantom Dancer features broadcast excerpts of Jack Teagarden between 1936-41. He had begun playing professionally as a teenager, playing with many different bands in a process that took him from his native Texas to New York City.

Teagarden sought financial security during the Great Depression and signed a contract to play for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra from 1933 through 1938. Jack did play and broadcast on radio in small jazz groups in the mid 30s with his brother Charlie and Frankie Trambauer as ‘The Three T’s.’ I have played some of these radio broadcasts from the Hickory House over CBS but the sound quality is very poor.

BIG BAND

Teagarden started leading his own big band in 1939. We’ll hear it’s debut on ‘The Fitch Summer Bandwagon’. The band was not a commercial success, and he was brought to the brink of bankruptcy.

VIDEO

This week’s Phantom Dancer video of the week is film of Jack Teagarden from a 1950s Telescription playing with ‘Basin Street Blues’.

29 OCTOBER PLAY LIST