Father of Jazz Trombone

Personnel includes: Jack Teagarden (trombone); Coleman Hawkins (saxophone); Benny Goodman (clarinet); Joe Venuti (violin); Eddie Condon (guitar); Bobby Hackett.
Personnel: Jack Teagarden (vocals, trombone); Eddie Condon (vocals, guitar, banjo); Dick McDonough, Jack Bland (vocals, guitar); Mezz Mezzrow (vocals, clarinet, C-melody saxophone); Hot Lips Page, Charlie Teagarden (vocals, trumpet); Lou McGarity (vocals, trombone); Chuck Goldstein, Ralph Brewster, Johnny Mercer, Lee Wiley, Red McKenzie (vocals); Chuck Wayne, Mike Pingatore, Dave Barbour, Brick Fleagle, Dick McPartland, George Van Eps, Herb Ellis, Art Ryerson, Allan Reuss, Perry Botkin, Carl Kress (guitar); Casper Reardon (harp); Mischa Russell, Harry Struble, Kurt Dieterle, Joe Venuti, Matty Malneck (violin); John Cordaro (clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Benny Bonacio (clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone); Charles Strickfaden (clarinet, oboe, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Dan d'Andrea, Alvy West, Lennie Hartman (clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Frankie Trumbauer (clarinet, alto saxophone, C-melody saxophone); Clint Garvin, Salvator Franzella, Rod Cless, Danny Polo (clarinet, alto saxophone); Ernie Caceres (clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Hub Lytle, John Van Eps (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Heine Beau, Jimmie Noone, Johnny Mince, Peanuts Hucko, Pee Wee Russell, Artie Shaw, Barney Bigard, Benny Goodman, Hank D'Amico (clarinet); Joe Ferdinando, Buddy Fisk, Tony Antonelli, Al Gallodoro (alto saxophone); Arthur Rollini, Coleman Hawkins, Cliff Strickland, Mutt Hayes, Art Drelinger, Arthur Beck, Art Moore, Happy Caldwell, Nick Caiazza, Art Karle, Ben Webster, Bud Freeman (tenor saxophone); Adrian Rollini (bass saxophone); John Fallstitch, Manny Klein, Pokey Carriere, Don Waddilove, Claude Whiteman, Eddie Wade, Bob Cusmano, Truman Quigley, Dave Klein, Carl Garvin, Larry Neill, Harry Goldfield, Joe Thomas , Lee Castle, Louis Armstrong, Max Kaminsky, Monty Kelly , Rex Stewart, Sid Feller, Billy Butterfield, Billy May, Charlie Spivak (trumpet); Jimmy McPartland, Bobby Hackett (cornet); Mark Bennett , Bill Rank, Seymour Goldfinger, Joe Ferrall, Jack Fulton, Charles McCamish, Jose Gutierrez, Skip Layton, Tom Moore , Murray McEachern (trombone); Frank Froeba, Frank Signorelli, Buddy Weed, Ernie Hughes, Herman Chittison, Howard Smith , John Anderson , Ramona Davies, Jess Stacy, Joe Sullivan , Johnny Guarnieri, Terry Shand, Walter Gross, Roy Bargy, Billy Kyle , Bill Clifton, Gene Schroeder, Charlie LaVere (piano); Larry Gomar (vibraphone, drums); Cozy Cole, George Stafford, Herb Quigley, Gene Krupa, George Wettling, Cubby Teagarden, Neil Marshall, Rollo Laylan, Josh Billings, Johnny Powell, Specs Powell, Willie Rodriguez, Zutty Singleton, Bob Conselman, Stan King (drums).
Recording information: Chicago, IL (10/30/1928-03/10/1947); LA (10/30/1928-03/10/1947); New York, NY (10/30/1928-03/10/1947).
Directors: Frankie Trumbauer; Jack Teagarden; Paul Whiteman.
Jack Teagarden made the trombone sexy, and his pliant, lazy tone made the instrument swing like a trumpet. He was also a remarkable singer, with a warm, Texas drawl that gave everything he sang a marvelous intimacy. Such talents did not go unnoticed in the jazz world, and he worked with such notables as Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Red Nichols, Joe Venuti, Eddie Condon and Louis Armstrong, among others, throughout his long career. This three- disc box spans the years 1928 to 1947, and its 72 tracks show an amazingly consistent performer, giving the whole set a cohesiveness that makes it indispensable. Included are Teagarden's near-definitive versions of "Basin Street Blues," "Beale Street Blues," "Blue River," "Jack Armstrong Blues," "St. Louis Blues" and a couple runs at "St. James Infirmary." With his offhand, nuanced singing style, Teagarden raises songs like "Aunt Hagar's Blues" to the level of vital Americana, and no one in jazz has ever gotten more out of the trombone at any level. Combined with his early-'60s gems for Verve Records (Mis'ry and the Blues and Think Well of Me), this collection provides an overview and a wonderful introduction to an American treasure. ~ Steve Leggett