Jack Teagarden

Jack Teagarden played trombone with a relaxed style and a unique technique that still inspires awe even today. He was also a great jazz singer, charming and warm, with influences from the African American blues singers he listened to while growing up in Texas. Born on Aug. 29, 1905, Teagarden learned trombone by the age of 10. While still in his teens, he was touring with such groups as Peck Kelly's Bad Boys. He recorded with his own small groups and played notably as a sideman with Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Red Nichols and Eddie Condon. He performed in the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in the 1930s, then performed with his own band. From 1947 to 1951 he toured with the Louis Armstrong's "All-Stars", and Louis Armstrong considered him to be his equal. After leaving Armstrong in 1951, Teagarden worked with his own small band for the most of his career. After years of hard touring and drinking, he died of a heart attack in New Orleans in 1964.