Jack Teagarden Audio Oral History, 1 (+Bonus Book)

(Paying Subscribers, below you’ll find the complete Teagarden book from 1939 about how to improvise on trombone, which applies to any instrument. And don’t forget to go back and check out every past essay with “Bonus” in the title.)

I’ve always loved the trombone—I even rented one for three months when I was 15 to try it out. One of my early favorite players was Weldon Leo “Jack” Teagarden (1905-1964) from Vernon, Texas. Of course, he was universally admired for his easy virtuosity and distinctive tone. He was also noted for his distinctive and relaxed singing style—in fact, my graduate student musicians invariably single out his vocals as being some of the only ones on early jazz recordings that don’t sound “corny” or dated. One of the first jazz albums I bought was the RCA Vintage LP (released in 1966) that presented selected Teagarden recordings from 1928 through 1957. A highlight was a profound performance of St. James Infirmary from the 1947 concert led by his close friend Louis Armstrong at Town Hall in N.Y.C. Dick Cary provides a rich accompaniment on piano, supported by Bob Haggart’s bass and George Wettling on drums. (Sid Catlett played on other songs at this concert.) Jack talks briefly at the beginning, plays trombone, sings, and then plays trombone again, this time with a muted sound (possibly his drinking glass technique, which we’ll talk about). Let’s listen:

Deep stuff! Don’t you agree? Well, sometime in that same year of 1947, jazz historian Charles Edward Smith (1904-1970) conducted an oral history with Teagarden for something like six hours. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this is a very significant historical resource. But it was never published in any form, and I’ve had it on reel-to-reel tape for many years. (I thank my former grad student, jazz scholar and trombonist Alex Rodriguez, for transferring it to digital files, and subscriber and audio engineer Jim Brown for improving the sound quality.)

Someone has posted some research on Teagarden’s family history. Although there have been rumors that he had Native American ancestry, you will notice that nothing of that sort is indicated in his background, which was mostly German. In fact, it is common among both white and Black families to claim Native American ancestry, usually based solely on one’s facial features—one of the least reliable ways to determine ancestry—and it often turns out to have no basis. In Jack’s case, family lore said that he had an uncle who lived with and was adopted by Native Americans. But even it that was true, that didn’t mean that Jack had Native American ancestry.

The segments of the interview are up to 12 minutes in length, far longer than a 78 rpm disc, but this wasn’t done on tape—1947 was too early for that. One can hear the needle in the groove at the start of each segment. So this must have been recorded on radio transcription discs, a professional format used for pre-recorded programs. These discs were 12 or even 16 inches in diameter, and were recorded at the 33 1/3 speed (before it became available for home use in the 1950s), so they could run as long as about 15 minutes.

We’ll hear two segments today, totalling about 23 minutes. Jack begins by noting that he wants to talk about the musical career of his mother, “whose talent I inherited.” In fact, his last recorded performance was a reunion at the Monterey Jazz Festival with his mother Helen (1890-1982) and sister Norma alternating on piano, his brother Charlie, an excellent trumpeter, plus guests, on September 21, 1963. Here’s a photo of them offstage (with an unknown man in the background):

Teagarden family 9-21-63 (L to R): Jack, Helen (pno), Norma (pno), Charlie (tpt)

About his father, on the other hand, Jack says he “wasn’t a bit talented” but “he was crazy about music” and played cornet and, it appears, other brass instruments with valves. Jack had perfect pitch and at 1:45, he says that he learned trumpet fingering just by watching his father, “without ever having played one.” But on a short interview with singer Bobby Troup that was released on an LP in 1957, we learn that that’s a little misleading, because it suggests that Jack had not played any brass instruments yet. Here he clarifies that he was already playing baritone horn, which uses the same fingerings as trumpet, but sounds an octave lower:

He also mentions in this audio excerpt that his father worked at the Cotton Oil Company. (At that time this was the name of several companies, as well as a type of oil process.) Back to the oral history, At 3:20, Jack recalls that his mother taught piano, but he hated the piano, and thought it was for girls (a common attitude in those days). So at age 6 he started on tenor horn. also known as alto horn. According to the story you just heard above, he started at 5 and it was on baritone, but in any case, both are basically small tubas. Here’s the tenor aka alto horn:

He was quickly good enough to play in a band that played marches, and soon switched to trombone. He mentions the ‘“Our Leader’ March” which was published in 1903 but is now forgotten. (The sheet music is here.) At 8:00 he refers to a boyhood photo of himself in knee pants that appeared in Downbeat, but after hours of searching I haven’t been able to find that in any magazine. (If you know it, please share it.)

Meanwhile, his father encouraged Jack and his siblings to learn how to repair toys and other things. He mentions a “Stephenson that would run”—I assume a model of the Stephenson electric streetcars, aka “trolleys.” Eventually he went with his father to help fix steam engines, and he continued this interest into adulthood, as you can see here (from the short-lived magazine Music and Rhythm, March 1942):

Okay—here’s the first part of the interview:

We have time for one more segment today. In this second part, he begins by talking about reading music, and adding passing chord tones to what was written. At 1:08 he talks more about his father, who, probably after he worked at the oil company mentioned above, repaired engines for a living at the immense Waggoner Ranch, about 13 miles south of Vernon. His father died on November 3, 1918 of the flu during the worldwide epidemic.

At 3:16 he goes back to music. He played snare drum in that second grade band, then at age 10 played trombone in church, playing hymns. He also performed in various school bands, and in an orchestra that had girls playing the stringed instruments. At 6:00 he talks some more about engine repairs

At 6:38, he says that in 1919, because his father had died, the family moved to live with his uncle, one of his father’s brothers, in Chapman, Nebraska, a tiny village about 10 miles from the much larger Central City. He and his mother played for silent films there. He had to run the projector as well for a bit!

At 9:45 he says that he only went as far as the sophomore year of high school, and Smith says “You and me both.” Jack concludes this portion with a story about the time that his uncle took him the county fair at Sidney, Nebraska, a few hours from their home, and how Jack got to play trombone in the band there. Let’s listen:

There’s quite a bit more to come of this historic—and enjoyable—interview!

All the best,
Lewis

P.S. Paying Subscribers, below you’ll find the Teagarden book about how to improvise on trombone.