Teagarden, Jack, 1905-1964

Jazz musician Weldon Leo (Jack) Teagarden (1905-1964) was born in Vernon, Texas, to Charles and Helen Teagarden. Beginning piano lessons at the age of five, Teagarden switched to trombone two years later. After his first professional performance in 1921, Teagarden played with several Texas bands and made his first trip to New York in 1926. A year later he moved to the city and defeated Glenn Miller for the position of first trombone in Ben Pollack’s band. Teagarden made his first recording as a member of Pollack’s Kentucky Grasshoppers and went on to record with many jazz greats, including Red Nichols, Benny Goodman, and Louis Armstrong. He was also one of the first white jazz musicians to record with black players.

Departing from the traditional Dixieland “tailgate” trombone style, Teagarden’s playing avoided a strict solo beat and incorporated upper register solos, “blue notes,” and lip trills. He was the featured performer at 1957’s Newport Jazz Festival and appeared in the movies Birth of the Blues (1941), The Glass Wall (1953), and Jazz on a Summer's Day (1959).

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