by PATRICK JARENWATTANANON
This fall marks the centennial birthday anniversaries of two
all-time great improvisers, pianist Teddy Wilson and tenor saxophonist Don
Byas. Born about a month apart in 1912, they're both revered by those who
familiar with jazz prior to the LP era. They swung madly; they had sparkling
rhythmic command; they prioritized melodic finesse and warmth.
They didn't collaborate a ton, but they certainly traveled
in similar orbits. So I thought it worth considering them as peers. And like
many fellow greats, they tend to crop up at many trend-setting junctures in
history. Here are a few of them.
1912: Don Byas was born in Muskogee, Okla. Teddy Wilson was
born in Austin, Texas (and grew up in Tuskegee, Ala.).
1933: Wilson moves to New York City, joining the Chocolate
Dandies, a band led by pioneering saxophonist, trumpeter and composer-arranger
Benny Carter. Previously, he had been working in Chicago, including with Louis
Armstrong.
1935: Wilson joins clarinetist and big-bandleader Benny
Goodman's small group. Goodman was a teen idol at the time, making this the
first racially integrated touring band of prominence: Wilson and vibraphonist
Lionel Hampton were black, and Goodman and drummer Gene Krupa were white.
1937: Byas moves to New York City. Within years, his first
big break comes when he's hired to replace Lester Young in the Count Basie
Orchestra.
1940: Wilson and Byas appear together on a Billie Holiday
recording session on Sept. 12, resulting in four tunes. Wilson had already been
working with Holiday for years, their careers blooming together.
Read more on: http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2012/11/26/165596190/100-years-of-don-byas-and-teddy-wilson
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