Jack Teagarden, Basin Street Blues and New Orleans
“‘Jack was just a gentle, good-natured, soft-spoken guy,’ said bassist Jack Lesberg, who worked with Teagarden countless times in the !"#s and $%#s& ‘'e(er cra(ed attention, or asked anything special from anybody& 'e(er wanted to put himself forward& Just wanted to play and sing, and let life take care of the rest in whate(er way it was going to&’ )ut all too often life doesn't take take care of the rest& *(en the yellow brick road can be all uphill, and there are indications aplenty that, for Jack Teagarden, the slope was sometimes pretty steep&+ - Richard M. Sudhalter, The Complete Capitol Fifties Jack Teagarden Sessions [Mosaic MD-!"#$ © -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
Thanks to its location in a small su%ur% a%out a do&en miles 'est of (e' )rleans, %usiness trips to *isit one of m+ oldest and largest clients often %rought me to The Crescent Cit+. f truth %e told, due to (e' )rleans famed picurean delights, m+ %oss spent more time 'ith the client o*er the course of a +ear than did.
/is e0planation for this disparit+ 'as so that he could properl+ help them sa*or the 'ining and dining delights that the cit+ is famous for as his 'a+ of sa+ing 1Thank 2ou3 for their %usiness. generall+ got called in to smooth o*er an+ trou%le spots and to do the 1minor things3 like like the contract contract rene'al4 rene'al4 5lthough the client 'as located in a su%ur%an communit+ 6ust outside the cit+, 'e sta+ed at one of (e' )rleans do'nto'n hotels, prefera%l+ The Fairmont. 5nd since usuall+ 'asnt a part of the eating rich foods and sta+ing up late drinking !#-+ear old Scotch %rigade, often spent m+ free time 'alking along streets of the cit+s French 7uarter8 streets 'hose names had %een made famous in the titles of Traditional or Di0ieland Ja&& such as 9our%on Street, Rampart Street and 9asin Street. )f course, %+ the time got there, 'ith the e0ception of the :reser*ation /all Ja&& 9and and occasional appearances %+ trumpeter 5l /irt and clarinetist :ete Fountain, Traditional Ja&& had since %een long gone from the streets of (e' )rleans, and especiall+ from the French 7uarter. Still it 'as fun to am%le do'n some of these historic *enues in the earl+ afternoon 'ith the refrains of Jack Teagarden singing )asin treet )lues going through m+ mind. For as long as can remem%er, Jack Teagarden 'as a *icarious mem%er of our famil+8 m+ Father lo*ed his pla+ing so much that he 'ould ha*e easil+ adopted Jack into it. /e had man+ of Jacks original ;# rpms records and pla+ed them constantl+ all the 'hile miming Jacks trom%one sound %+ pressing an imaginar+ horns mouthpiece mouthpiece to his lips 'ith the first, t'o fingers of his left-hand and 'orking a make-%elie*e trom%one slide 'ith his right. M+ Dads de*otion to Jack Teagarden did ultimatel+ %enefit me as he ga*e into m+ teenage pleadings to attend the (e'port Ja&& Festi*al [(JF$ in Jul+, !<=; after he found out that 19ig T3 'ould %e there as part of a %irthda+ cele%ration for >ouis 5rmstrong. The audio track to the follo'ing *ideo tri%ute to Jack is taken from Teagardens performance of )asin treet )lues at )lues at the (JF on Jul+ , !<=; 'here he appeared along 'ith /enr+ 1Red3 5llen on trumpet, J.C. /iggin%otham on trom%one, 9uster 9aile+ on clarinet and a rh+thm section of Claude /opkins [p$, 5r*ell Sha' [%$ and Co&+ Cole [d$.
This rendering of )asin treet is m+ fa*orite recording %+ Jack. n it +ou can hear the humanit+ and humilit+ that 'as so characteristic of this great Ja&& musician. /ere are some thoughts, o%ser*ations and comments a%out Jack as dra'n from the 'ritings of a num%er of respected authors. ?hitne+ 9alliett, American 9alliett, American Musicians: Musicians: 56 Portraits in Jazz Jazz [(e' 2ork@ )0ford Ani*ersit+ :ress, !<#", e0cerpts taken from pages !"B-!"$. 1Jack Te Teagarden 'as o%sessed o%sessed %+ music music and %+ machines. machines. n (e' 2ork 2ork in the late t'enties, 'hen he 'as 'ith 9en :ollacks %and, he 'ould sometimes pla+ around the clock. /e 'ould start at " p.m. 'ith :ollack at the :ark Central /otel and 'ould finish some'here in /arlem, 'here he had gone to 6am, the afternoon of the ne0t da+. Teagardens lo*e of machines 'as an e0tension of his lo*e of his instrument. /e thought of his trom%one as a kind of machine, and he spent his life mastering its decepti*e, resistant techniEues, and redesigning mouthpieces, 'ater *al*es, and mutes. /is father, an engineer 'ho took care of Te0as cotton gins, taught him mechanics. ?hen Teagarden 'as thirteen, he replaced the pipes in his grandmoth grandmothers ers house, and a +ear later he %ecame a full-fledged automo%ile mechanic. 5s an adult, he re%uilt and dro*e t'o Stanle+ Steamers. /e 'as a flam%o+ant in*entor. Sometimes he %uilt machines simpl+ for the sake of %uilding them. /e constructed one that filled a room, and 'hen he 'as asked 'hat it did he replied, ?h+, its runnin, aint itG /is trom%one and his machines 'ere the interchangea%le l+rical centers of his life, and the+ helped hold it together. t 'as, in man+ 'a+s, a desperate life. ?omen flummo0ed him. /e 'as married four times, and none of the relationships 'orked *er+ 'ell. H/e had t'o children %+ his first 'ife, and one %+ his last.I /e had no head for mone+, and he 'as a gargantuan drinkeralmost in the same class as his friends Fats ?aller and 9unn+ 9erigan. /e 'as careless a%out his health@ he had lost all his teeth %+ the time he 'as fort+, and he had se*eral %outs of pneumonia. /e had little sense a%out his career. career. Teagardens demeanor and appearance al'a+s %elied his tra*ails. /e 'as tall and handsome, solid through the chest and shoulders. /e had a sEuare, open face and 'idel+ spaced e+es, 'hich he kept narro'ed, not letting too much of the 'orld in at a time. /is %lack hair 'as com%ed flat, its part 6ust to the left of center. /e 'as sometimes confused 'ith Jack Dempse+. /e liked practical 6okes, and he had an eas+, Southern sense of humor, the kind that feeds on colloEuialisms. H5sked once 'h+ he slept so much, he said that, like all Southerners, he 'as a slo' sleeper.I
Teagarden had se*eral different tones@ a light nasal one, a gruff, hea*+ one8 and a 'ear+, hoarse, onea t'ilight tone he used for slo' %lues, and for %allads that mo*ed him. /e had a nearl+ faultless techniEue, techniEue, +et it ne*er called attention to itself. )pposites 'ere compressed shre'dl+ in his st+le. >ong notes 'ere %alanced %+ triplets, dou%le-time spurts %+ laconic legato musings, %us+ness %+ silence, legitimate notes %+ %lue notes, moans %+ roars. Teagarden de*eloped a set of master solos for his %read-and-%utter tunes the tunes that his listeners e0pected and that he must ha*e pla+ed thousands of times@ 9asin Street 9lues, 5 /undred 2ears from Toda+, 9eale St. 9lues, Stars Fell on 5la%ama, St. James nfirmar+, Kotta Right to Sing the 9lues, 5fter 2ou*e Kone. ach time, though, he 'ould make generous and surprising changesadding a decorati*e triplet, a d+ing %lue note, a soaring glissandoand his listeners 'ould %e %uo+ed again. Sometimes he sank into his lo' register at the start of a slo' %lues solo and rose into his high register at its end. >ike his friend and admirer 9o%%+ /ackett, he sta+ed in the %ourgeois register of his horn, culti*ating his l+ricism, his tones, his sense of order and logic. Teagarden 'as a good 6a&& singer. singer. /is singing, a distillation distillation of his pla+ing, formed formed a kind of aureole around it. /e had a light %aritone, 'hich mo*ed easil+ %ehind the %eat. The rare consonants he used sounded like *o'els, and his *o'els 'ere all pureed. /is *ocals 'ere lulla%iesla+-me-do'n-to-sleep patches of sound. Teagarden gathered friends 'here*er he 'ent. /is pla+ing stunned them 'hen the+ first heard it, and it still stuns them. [:ianist$ Jess Stac+@ thought he 'as the %est trom%onist 'ho e*er li*ed. ?hen made those Commodore sides 'ith him in !
Teagardens 'arm, richl+ melodic, %lues-drenched pla+ing 'as completel+ unlike the technicall+ accomplished %ut emotionall+ remote approach to the instrument fa*ored %+ Miff Mole, the premier 'hite 6a&& trom%onist up to no' 'ho 'as emulated %+ most other 'hite trom%one pla+ers, including Klenn Miller. Teagardens impact upon the :ollack musicians and the rest of the 6a&& communit+ in (e' 2ork, %lack as 'ell as 'hite, can hardl+ %e e0aggerated. Kil Rodin thought he 'as the %est trom%onist hed e*er heard and claimed that the main reason Miller didnt return to the %and 'as that he 'as hum%led %+ Teagardens hands-do'n superiorit+ and kne' e*er+one else reall+ 'anted him. 9enn+ and Teagarden took to each others pla+ing immediatel+. 9enn+ has al'a+s thrilled me, Teagarden said. ?hen 'e 'orked together in the old 9en :ollack orchestra ... he used to lea*e me so 'eak couldnt hardl+ get out of the chair. For 9enn+, Teagarden 'as an a%solutel+ fantastic trom%one pla+er, and lo*ed to listen to him take solos. 5ccording to :ollack, 9enn+ Koodman 'as getting in e*er+%od+s hair a%out this time, %ecause he 'as getting good and took all the choruses. 9ut 'hen Jack 6oined the %and, 9enn+ 'ould turn around and pass the choruses on to Teagarden. got a%out as man+ kicks out of hearing Jack pla+ as an+ musician *e e*er 'orked 'ith, 9enn+ maintained. 9ut the peculiar remoteness that e*entuall+ %ecame such a pu&&ling part of 9enn+s personalit+ kept it from seeming that 'a+ at the %eginning. 9enn+ used to 'orr+ me, Teagarden recalled. /ed keep looking at me all the time, and it got on m+ ner*es. )ne da+ asked him, Sa+, +ou keep staring at me all the time. Do anno+ +ouor is an+thing 'rongG 9enn+ laughed and said, M+ gosh, no. 9ut the things +ou pla+ 6ust keep surprising me4 9enn+ was hard was hard to read, Mc:artland agreed. /ed get a look on his face, and +ou reall+ didnt Mc:artland kno' 'hat he thought a%out an+thing. 9ut he meant no ill 'ill. ne*er 'as much of a hand for talking a%out things like, especiall+ in those da+s, 'as 9enn+s comment on the incident. 9ud Freeman claimed that Teagardens ad*ent changed the st+le of the %and and left a permanent mark upon 9enn+s pla+ing. 9enn+ Koodman, up to the time of hearing Jack, had not pla+ed much melod+. /e %ecame a strong melodic pla+er. m certain that this influence contri%uted strongl+ to 9enn+s greatness.
Richard Sudhalter, Lost "hords: #hite Musicians and Their "ontri$utions "ontri$ution s to Jazz, %&%5%&(5 [(e' 2ork@ )0ford Ani*ersit+ :ress, !<<<, e0cerpts dra'n from pp. ;B<-;!B8 ;!#$. 1 [Jacks$ [Jacks$ fascination fascination 'ith things mechanical found found its most lasting lasting e0pression in the uniEue 'a+ he pla+ed the trom%one, particularl+ the solutions he de*ised to its technical pro%lems /e found a solution, %ased on an intuiti*e understanding understanding or no' %rass inin struments 'ork. The higher a trumpet or trom%one pla+s, the closer together the notes and the more options it offers for producing a gi*en note. Some such alternati*es alternati*es are so naturall+ out of tune that Hon a *al*ed instrument especiall+I the+ cant %e used at all. 5 trom%one slide offers a chance to correct such pitch anomalies 'ith often finel+ cali%rate cali%rated d ad6ustments. Multipl+ing this %+ all the le*els of the o*ertone series makes clear 'hat +oung ?eldon disco*ered *er+ earl+@ 'ith diligent practice, and rel+ing on an unusuall+ acute ear to ad6ust intonation, he could pla+ almost an+ note he 'anted Hsa*e the *er+ lo' onesI %+ fa*oring positions 'hich kept the slide close to his face. Ja&&men 'ho heard Teagarden throughout his career 'ere often ama&ed that such a musical torrent could come of so little apparent slide mo*ement. 9ritish trumpeter /umphre+ >+ttelton, for one, mar*eled at the 'a+ in 'hich [Teagardens$ huge, sEuare right hand seemed to 'a*e languidl+ an inch or t'o in front of his face 'hile the notes tum%led out. . [>+ttelton goes on to sa+ that$ t is hard to find a single Teagarden record 'hich he did not enhance 'ith his %eautiful, curiousl+ %lunted
tone, his mar*elousl+ fluent articulation, his perfect rh+thmic poise and the sheer elegance of his musical thought.3 Richard Cook and 9rian Morton, The Penguin !uide to Jazz on "), 6 th *d+, [pp. !N<-LB$ 1 Te Teagarden took the trom%one to ne' le*els, le*els, 'ith his impecca%le impecca%le techniEue, fluenc+ and gorgeous sound, allied to a feel for %lues pla+ing 'hich alluded man+ of his 'hite contemporaries. Teagardens star is someho' in decline, since all his greatest 'ork predates the >: era and at this distance its difficult to hear ho' completel+ he changed the role of the trom%one. n Teas hands, this a'k'ard %arn+ard instrument %ecame ma6estic, sonorous and handsome. 9+ the time he %egan recording in !
1)nl+ one other other 'hite %rass %rass pla+er of of the da+ could could approach [9i0$ [9i0$ 9eider%ecke in terms of indi*idualit+ and creati*it+. Jack Teagarden stands out as the greatest of the traditional Ja&& pla+ers on the trom%one, and also left a mark as an important Ja&& singer. Teagarden had fe' models to dra' oneither on record or in person during his formati*e +ears. The (e' )rleans tradition, despite its freEuent use of the trom%one, had done little to de*elop its possi%ilities as a solo *oice. t more often ser*ed as a source of counter melodies or rh+thmic accents, often linking harmonies 'ith the slurred chromatic glissandi that characteri&ed the Tailgate sound, a stock (e' )rleans de*ice associated most closel+ 'ith Oid )r+. n man+ 'a+s, Teagardens pla+ing sho'ed a disregard of formal methods, especiall+ in his reliance on em%ouchur em%ouchure e and alternate positions rather than slide techniEue8 , %+ the time of his arri*al in (e' 2ork [!
5nd lets close this o*er*ie' of Jack Teagarden 'ith these comments from Martin ?illiams .reface .reface to to Ja+ D. Smiths and >en Kuttridges Jac0 Teagarden: The Stor of a Jazz Ma1eric0 [(e' 2ork@ Da Capo, !<##$. 1)%*iousl+ a man like Te Teagarden, 'ith his master+ master+ of his instrument, instrument, might ha*e stepped into almost an+ kind of music and made a career for himself. 9ut one thing that Ja+ D. Smiths and >en Kuttridges %ook makes clear is that Jack could not ha*e %een an+ kind of musician e0cept a 6a&& musician. 5 6a&& musician simpl+ has to make his music and dedicate his life to it, e*en though he ma+ not tell +ou Hor himselfI why he he has to. /e ma+ not, indeed, e*en %e a%le to sa+ 'h+, or need to sa+ 'h+. The need is to make the music and, necessaril+, lead the life that makes that possi%le. 5ll of 'hich has little or nothing to do 'ith ego or acclaim or mone+. /e needs to gi*e his music to the 'orld and he hopes the 'orld 'ill understand. 2ou 'ill find out a%out that need in these pages. 2ou 'ill also find plent+ of the pranks and %o+s-'ill-%e-%o+s anecdotes that seem so pre*alent, di*erting, and Hunder the surfaceI necessar+ a part of the musical life. could sa+ that Smith and Kuttridge engaged in a la%or of lo*e in researching and 'riting their %ook for Jack. 9ut 'ould also descri%e it as a la%or of infatuation, and offer that further description 'ith respect.3 Martin ?illiams )cto%er !<#;3 1nfatuation3 is a good 'ord to use 'ith Jack Jack Te Teagardens music.
