Teddy Wilson Talks Jazz: The Autobiography of Teddy Wilson

by Teddy Wilson, Arie Ligthart, Humphrey Van Loo

In his varied and colorful life, Teddy Wilson worked with innumerable great names of jazz. He came to fame in the small groups led by Benny Goodman, and also through his remarkable series of recordings with the singer Billie Holiday. During the mid-1970s, Wilson recorded and toured often in Europe, and during these visits he was frequently teamed with the Dutch Swing College Band. The band's guitarist Arie Ligthart and Anglo-Dutch publicist and author Humphrey van Loo took the opportunity of these visits to work with Wilson on a full-length autobiography, which has lain unpublished during the years since Wilson's death in 1986. Teddy Wilson Talks Jazz is a candid account of Wilson's life and career, from his childhood through to his association with the critic and producer John Hammond, and on to his associations with Goodman, Holiday, his own bands and fellow pianists such as Earl Hines and Art Tatum. Highlights in this very personal view of a life in music include recollections of Al Capone, his respect for jazz pioneers such as Jelly Roll Morton, his account of the organization behind Billie Holiday's recording career, his recordings with Lester Young, and his 1962 trip to Russia, as well as his insider's account of working with Benny Goodman.

Genres: Music

179 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taken from his interviews with a Dutch musician friend and a journalist, this is jazz piano legend Teddy Wilson's story in his own articulate words. From his childhood to his rise to fame as a pianist, member of Benny Goodman's band, Billie Holiday's accompanist, big band leader himself and member of countless recording sessions with the cream of jazz musicians, Wilson gives his own take on the history of jazz, other pianists, arrangers, musicians, labels applied to music and even Rock n' Roll. The only criticism I have is that it could have been two or three times longer than it is. The book also contains a discography for those who want detailed information on Wilson's recorded output. - BH.

[Dave Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is written as if dictated by Teddy to a secretary. His story really deserves a true writer's treatment. The content is mostly very good; Teddy has a lot to share, wonderful experiences with the famous people he knew. But he himself is no writer. Some musicians will be put off by his cranky opinions about the famous English acts my age group (boomers) loved. Admittedly the British Invasion took a lot of work away from jazz players, but his reaction might be better expressed in a context where it doesn't look like sour and bitter grapes. I myself went on to love jazz as well as the 60s rock and roll I grew up with, and I came to admire the music of Teddy Wilson and his peers as well as the Beatles and their fellow rockers.