Theodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist based on the West Coast of the US. Some consider him to be one of the most influential tenor saxophonists of the 1940s.[1]
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Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone and then clarinet. His first professional job was with The Royal Mississippians with Doc Parmley.
His uncle sent for him to come to Detroit to live because he felt opportunities were better. Due to illness in the family, he went back to Jackson and ventured to Alexandria, Louisiana. He was persuaded by Ernie Fields to join his band after going to Tampa, Florida. Teddy had planned to go to New York, but Ernie Fields convinced him he could get there by way of Washington, DC, if he worked with his band. Teddy ended up at the Club Alabam on Central Avenue in Los Angeles, which later became his city of residence.
Teddy Edwards played with many jazz notables, including his personal friend Charlie Parker, Roy Milton, Wynonie Harris, Vince Guaraldi, Joe Castro and Ernie Andrews. A classic 1947 recording with Dexter Gordon, The Duel, helped set him up as a legend, a status he liked to maintain by challenging other worthy sax players to similar duels whenever possible, including a recording with Houston Person. One such memorable duel took place in the 1980s at London's 100 Club with British tenor Dick Morrissey.[2]
In 1964, Edwards played with Benny Goodman at Disneyland, and at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Edwards played live with and appeared on albums of Tom Waits. He toured with him on the Heart Attack and Vine tour and played to a packed Victoria Apollo in London with Waits and a bassist (the drummer had apparently been left behind after some dispute). The 1991 album Mississippi Lad features two tracks with Waits, and Waits covers the Edwards-written ballad "Little Man" on his Orphans collection.
Discography[]
As leader[]
- 1947 The Foremost
- 1948 Central Avenue Breakdown
- 1959 At Falcon's Lair with Joe Castro (MetroJazz Records, split LP with Sonny Rollins "At Music Inn")
- 1959 It's About Time (Pacific Jazz)
- 1959 Sunset Eyes (Pacific Jazz)
- 1960 Teddy's Ready! (Contemporary)
- 1960 Back to Avalon (Contemporary)
- 1961: Together Again!!!! - with Howard McGhee (Contemporary)
- 1961 Good Gravy! (Contemporary)
- 1962 Heart & Soul (Contemporary)
- 1966 Nothin' But the Truth! (Prestige)
- 1967 It's All Right! (Prestige)
- 1974 Feelin's (Muse)
- 1976 The Inimitable Teddy Edwards (Xanadu Records)
- 1980 Out of This World
- 1981 Good Gravy [live]
- 1991 Mississippi Lad
- 1992 Blue Saxophone
- 1994 Horn to Horn
- 1995 Tango in Harlem
- 1997 Midnight Creeper
- 1999 Close Encounters
- 2001 Ladies Man
- 2003 Smooth Sailing
As sideman[]
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With Frank Butler
- Wheelin' and Dealin' with Joe Farrell and Monty Budwig (1978)
With King Pleasure
- Golden Days (Original Jazz Classics, 1960)
With Joe Castro
- Groove Funk Soul! by (Atlantic, 1958)
With Sonny Criss
- Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool) (Prestige, 1968)
With Richard "Groove" Holmes
- Get Up & Get It! (Prestige, 1967)
- Welcome Home (World Pacific Jazz, 1968)
With Milt Jackson
- That's the Way It Is (Impulse!, 1969)
- Just the Way It Had to Be (Impulse!, 1969)
- Memphis Jackson (Impulse!, 1969)
With The Leroy Vinnegar Sextet
- Walk On! (The Leroy Vinnegar Sextet, 1992)
References[]
External links[]
- Teddy Edwards at The A-1 Artists Agency.
- Interview with Teddy Edwards
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