Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. A music critic named Scott Yanow called Wilson "the definitive swing pianist," meaning he was most well-known for his swing style. Wilson played piano in a gentle, elegant, and skilled way. His style was strongly influenced by other famous pianists, Earl Hines and Art Tatum. He performed on recordings with many important jazz musicians, such as Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. While working with Goodman, Wilson was among the first African American musicians to perform openly with white musicians. In addition to playing for other musicians, Wilson led his own musical groups and recorded music from the late 1920s until the 1980s.

Life and career

Wilson was born in Austin, Texas. His parents were school teachers, and he began his music education at age 6 by learning to play the piano. Later, he studied violin, oboe, and clarinet at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Wilson moved to Detroit with his brother, Gus Wilson, who was also a musician. In 1929, Teddy started his professional career by playing with Speed Webb’s band. In 1930, he took over the pianist position in Milton Senior’s band, which had previously been held by Art Tatum. After touring with the band in Chicago, Wilson decided to stay there and worked with Louis Armstrong and his orchestra from 1931 to 1933. He also practiced with Earl Hines in Hines’s Grand Terrace Cafe Orchestra before moving to New York in 1933 to perform with Benny Carter’s Chocolate Dandies.

In 1935, while playing music with Benny Goodman and Carl Bellinger at a house party hosted by Mildred Bailey, they were noticed by producer John Hammond. Hammond arranged recording sessions for them, which led to the formation of the Benny Goodman Trio. The trio included Goodman, Wilson, and drummer Gene Krupa (later joined by vibraphonist Lionel Hampton). The trio performed during breaks in Goodman’s big band concerts. By joining the trio, Wilson became one of the first Black musicians to perform in a racially integrated group.

Hammond also helped Wilson sign a contract with Brunswick Records from 1935 to 1939. During this time, Wilson recorded popular songs for the growing jukebox industry. He also worked with other swing musicians, including Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers, Red Norvo, Buck Clayton, and Ben Webster. Thirty-eight of his recordings became hits, mostly chamber jazz recordings with singers like Lena Horne, Helen Ward, Ella Fitzgerald, Mildred Bailey, and Billie Holiday. Wilson and Billie Holiday recorded fourteen songs together in 1935. From 1939 to 1942, he recorded for Columbia Records. In 1939, Wilson left Goodman’s band and formed his own fifteen-piece big band, but it lasted only about a year because the band lacked individuality. In 1944, he returned to his role as a musician in the Benny Goodman Sextet, and his partnership with Goodman continued until 1962. During the mid- to late 1940s, Wilson focused more on studio recordings, radio broadcasts, and on-screen performances rather than live stage performances.

After his big band ended, Wilson formed a sextet that performed at Café Society from 1940 to 1944. At Café Society, he led jazz shows called “chamber jazz” with a dance orchestra that included himself, Frankie Newton, Ed Hall, and Billie Holiday. He was called the “Marxist Mozart” by Howard “Stretch” Johnson because of his support for left-wing causes. Wilson performed in benefit concerts for The New Masses journal and for Russian War Relief. He also chaired the Artists’ Committee to help elect Benjamin J. Davis, a New York City council member running on the Communist Party USA ballot. Later, the FBI stopped Wilson from performing on radio, television, and in social events, claiming he was involved in Communism.

From 1945 to 1952, Wilson taught music at the Juilliard School. After that, he traveled to many countries in Europe, including Scandinavia, England, Scotland, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland. In the 1950s, he recorded for Verve Records. Wilson also appeared as himself in the movies Hollywood Hotel (1937) and The Benny Goodman Story (1955). Later, he worked as a music director for the Dick Cavett Show.

Wilson lived in Hillsdale, New Jersey. He was married three times, including to songwriter Irene Kitchings. He performed as a soloist and with small groups until the end of his life, including leading a trio with his sons, Theodore Wilson on bass and Steven Wilson on drums.

In 1979, Wilson was given an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. He died of stomach cancer in New Britain, Connecticut, on July 31, 1986, at age 73. He is buried at Fairview Cemetery in New Britain. In addition to his sons Theodore and Steven, Wilson had three other children: William, James (Jim), and Dune.

Musical style

According to Wilson, he first heard jazz by listening to the music of Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, and Fats Waller. He then created his own musical style by studying the music of Art Tatum and Earl Hines. When considering Tatum’s influence, Wilson’s fast right-hand playing can be linked to Tatum’s similar right-hand techniques. However, Wilson’s music focused on notes from the main scale and used chords and their variations. He also developed a style of improvisation that emphasized smooth, melodic lines. Additionally, Wilson’s playing showed clear changes in loudness and had a refined, gentle touch. His smooth, flowing runs and steady rhythm might have been influenced by his calm personality and his experience playing with Benny Goodman during a time of racial segregation. Teddy Wilson helped change how pianists played by making their articulation more precise compared to the energetic Harlem Stride Piano style.

While he used a specific left-hand chord structure and played notes in pairs an octave apart, similar to a horn’s sound, inspired by Earl Hines, Wilson preferred a lighter, simpler sound with fewer rhythmic patterns and a single melodic idea compared to Hines.

Although he played with many bebop musicians like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie as a supporting musician, he kept using musical ideas from the swing era, such as playing notes from chords and using scale-based harmony. For example, his performance of "Congo Blues" with Red Norvo and His Sextet in 1945 shows how his style differed from Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Wilson’s style influenced other pianists, including his contemporary Mary Lou Williams, Mel Powell, Billy Kyle, Jess Stacy, and Joe Bushkin.

Discography

• 1928–32 – The Chronological 1928–1932 (Classics, 1990)
• 1934–35 – The Chronological 1934–1935 (Classics, 1990) (four CBS recordings, rest Brunswick)
• 1935–36 – The Chronological 1935–1936 (Classics, 1990)
• 1936–37 – The Chronological 1936–1937 (Classics, 1990)
• 1937–00 – The Chronological 1937 (Classics, 1996)
• 1937–38 – The Chronological 1937–1938 (Classics, 1996)
• 1938–00 – The Chronological 1938 (Classics, 1996)
• 1939–00 – The Chronological 1939 (Classics, 1996)
• 1939–41 – The Chronological 1939–1941 (Classics, 1996)
• 1942–45 – The Chronological 1939–1941 (Classics, 1996)
• 1946–00 – The Chronological 1939–1941 (Classics, 1996)
• 1947–50 – The Chronological 1939–1941 (Classics, 1996)
• 1941–42: Columbia Presents Teddy Wilson (Columbia, 1942) (4×10" LP)
• 1944: Teddy Wilson Sextet (The Onyx Club New York Original Live Recordings)
• 1952: Runnin' Wild (MGM)
• 1952: Just A Mood – Teddy Wilson Quartet Starring Harry James & Red Norvo (Columbia EP B-1569/5-1277)
• 1955: The Creative Teddy Wilson (Norgran) – also released as For Quiet Lovers (Verve)
• 1956: Pres and Teddy (Verve) with Lester Young
• 1956: I Got Rhythm (Verve)
• 1956: Intimate Listening (Verve)
• 1956: These Tunes Remind Me of You (Verve)
• 1957: The Impeccable Mr. Wilson (Verve)
• 1957: The Teddy Wilson Trio & Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Bob Brookmeyer at Newport (Verve)
• 1957: The Touch of Teddy Wilson (Verve)
• 1959: Mr. Wilson and Mr. Gershwin (Columbia)
• 1959: Gypsy in Jazz (Columbia)
• 1959: And Then They Wrote… (Columbia)
• 1963: Teddy Wilson 1964 (Cameo)
• 1967: Moonglow (Black Lion)
• 1968: The Noble Art of Teddy Wilson (Metronome)
• 1972: With Billie in Mind (Chiaroscuro)
• 1973: Runnin' Wild (Black Lion)
• 1976: Live at Santa Tecla
• 1980: Teddy Wilson Trio Revisits the Goodman Years
• 1983: Alone (Storyville)
• 1990: Air Mail Special

• 1935: Mildred Bailey, Mildred Bailey and Her Alley Cats (Columbia)
• 1935–1939: Benny Goodman, The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings (RCA)
• 1938: Benny Goodman, The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Columbia)
• 1946–1947: Sarah Vaughan, The Chronological 1946–1947 (Classics. ?)
• 1954: Ben Webster, Music for Loving (Norgran)
• 1973: Eiji Kitamura, Swing Special
• 1974: Phoebe Snow, Phoebe Snow (album) (Shelter Records)
• 1975: Eiji Kitamura, Teddy and Eiji–Live Session
• 1980: Eiji Kitamura, Teddy Wilson Meets Eiji Kitamura