A beautiful film about a jazz legend
whose talent did not match his recognition.
Teddy Edwards in Paris, France
"La décontraction et le swing d’Edwards m’emballèrent."
Jean-Louis Ginibre wrote "Teddy's first album was called" It's About Time! ". Already in 1959, some of us thought it was time to discover Teddy Edwards ..... Teddy Edwards is undoubtedly a recognized and appreciated musician but not as revered as his enormous talent demands, controls, claims. "It's about time!"
Photo by Bernard Ailloud
" The first time I heard Teddy Edwards was in the mid ‘50s. At the flea market outside Paris, I bought a 10” Dial LP which was a reissue of a handful of 78 RPM records made in Los Angeles in 1947."
Jean-Louis Ginibre (1933-2012) held many notable positions in his lifetime. Here are just a few. He was a Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. executive, former Editor-in-Chief of the French monthly “Jazz Magazine”, contributor to Instants de Jazz by Christian Rose (Filipacchi 1998) and author of Ladies or Gentlemen: A Pictorial History of Male Cross-Dressing (2005). He spent the last 40 years of his life in the United States between Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. His two biggest passions: jazz and cinema.
Jean- Louis Ginibre wrote the liner notes for Mississippi Lad in both French and English. This was Teddy Edwards's first comeback record as a leader in 20 years. Ginibre's experiences, combined with Bernard Ailloud's photographs give a unique snapshot of Teddy Edwards in Paris. Be sure to scroll down far enough for a taste of Teddy Edwards at La Villa, in Paris, Below, the liner notes in both languages.
La première fois que j’ai entendu Teddy Edwards, c’était au milieu des années 50. J’avais pu me procurer aux Puces, un microsillon 25 cm Dial rééditant quelques faces 78 tours enregistrées à Los Angeles en 1947, dont “The Duel” où Teddy affrontait sans mollir Dexter Gordon dans une de ces batailles de saxophones qui faisaient fureur à l’époque. La décontraction et le swing d’Edwards m’emballèrent.
The first time I heard Teddy Edwards was in the mid ‘50s. At the flea market outside Paris, I bought a 10” Dial LP which was a reissue of a handful of 78 RPM records made in Los Angeles in 1947. Among them was “The Duel” in which Teddy was fiercely battling Dexter Gordon on one of these saxophones showdowns which were the jazz rage at the time.
La première fois que j’ai vu Teddy Edwards, c’était à Los Angeles en mai 1968, au cours d’une party organisée par le batteur Larry Bunker. Au milieu d’une trentaine de musiciens - dont Jimmie Rowles, Red Mitchell, Bud Shank, Sonny Criss –, idoles de mon adolescence, Teddy se détachait par son sourir ouvert, sa modestie touchante et sa dé-contraction amiable.
The first time I saw Teddy Edwards was in Los Angeles in May 1968, at a party organized by drummer Larry Bunker. There among thirty musicians, some idols of my teens –Jimmie Rowles, Red Mitchell, Bud Schank, Sonny Criss, to name a few –, Teddy stood out like the sun on a warm summer’s day: his smile was open, his modesty touching and his relaxed manner extremely engaging.
La première fois que j’ai vu et entendu Teddy Edwards en direct, c’était en juillet 1969, toujours à Los Angeles, au Baby Grand West où Hampton Hawes m’avait emmené. Ce soir-là, accompagné par le trio du pianiste Ronnell Bright, Teddy aligna quelques solos bien charpentés avant que n’intervienne l’attraction de la soirée, Miss Yum-Yum (Melle Miam Miam). Teddy sans mouffeter, attaqua “Night Train” pour accompagner la stripteaseuse dont les formes généreuses justifiaient sans doute le surnom.
The first time I heard and saw Teddy Edwards was in July 1969, again in Los Angeles, at the Baby Grand West where Hampton Hawes had taken me. That evening, backed up by a trio of pianist Ronnell Bright, Teddy played some very powerful solos as the warm-up for Miss Yum-Yum, the lead attraction of the evening. Without batting an eyelid, Teddy accompanied the stripper, whose generous forms apparently justified the nickname, with a hard-driving version of “Night Train.”
Depuis, souvent mais pas assez, j’ai vu et entendu Teddy Edwards à Chicago et à Los Angeles – en quartet ou à la tête d’un orchestre plus étoffé (parfois des cordes). Chaque fois, j’ai été séduit par sa maîtrise instrumentale, son adresse harmonique, son invention dénuée de clichés, sa sonorité élégamment musclée et son affinité pour le blues.
Since then-often, but not enough, -I have seen and heard Teddy Edwards in both Chicago and Los Angeles, leading a quartet or a scaled-down big band (sometimes with strings). Each time, I have been seduced by his instrumental control, his harmonic ingenuity, his invention devoid of clichés and his powerful and gracious sound. And each time, I have been impressed by his affinity for the blues.
Photo by Bernard Ailloud
Cette incroyable affinité pour le blues, Teddy Edwards la doit sans doute au milieu sudiste dans lequel il a été élevé. Enfant du Mississippi (“Mississippi Lad”), né à Jackson le 26 avril 1924 dans une famille de musiciens, Teddy (Theodore Marcus) commence d’étudier le saxophone alto à l’âge de 10 ans et, à 12, est en mesure de se joindre aux orchestres locaux. A 16 ans, il se rend à Détroit où il travaille pendant quatre ans. En 1944, il dirige son propre orchestre à Tampa (Floride), rejoint à Tulsa (Oklahoma) l’orchestre d’Ernie Fields et participe à une tournée qui, pour lui, s’achève au Club Alabam de Los Angeles en 1945.
Teddy owes this incredible affinity for the blues to his southern background. A Mississippi lad, born in Jackson on April 26, 1924 to a family of musicians, Teddy (Theodore Marcus) started to study the saxophone alto at the age of 10 and, at 12, was able to play in the local bands. At age 16, he went to Detroit where he worked for four years. In 1944, he led his own orchestra in Tampa, Florida, and then went to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to join Ernie Fields’ orchestra and participate in a tour which, for him, ended up in 1945 at the Alabam Club of Los Angeles.
A l’âge d 21 ans, Teddy s’installe donc dans une ville qui, découvrant le bebop, permet à une nouvelle génération de musiciens - de Wardell Gray à Dexter Gordon, d’Hampton Hawes à Sonny Criss- de trouver leur identité musicale dans les boîtes de Central Avenue où se répercutaient les échos magiques du nouveau sextet que Dizzy Gillespie et Charlie Parker avaient amené chez Billy Berg, à Hollywood. C’est Howard McGhee, trompettiste bop de la première heure, qui découvre Teddy Edwards dans l’orchestre de Roy Milton.
There, at the age of 21, Teddy discovered a city which was allowing a new generation of musicians – from Wardell Gray to Dexter Gordon, from Hampton Hawes to Sonny Criss – to find their musical identity in Central Avenue’s night clubs, while over at Billy Berg’s in Hollywood the Dizzy Gillespie-Charlie Parker sextet was creating their own startling magic. It was Howard McGhee, one of the first bebop trumpet players, who that same year really discovered Teddy Edwards in the Roy Milton’s orchestra.
Photo by Bernard Ailloud
Venu travailler à Los Angeles avec le groupe de Coleman Hawkins, McGhee décide d’y rester et d’y former un quintet. Il engage Teddy après lui avoir demandé d’abondonner le saxophone alto au profit du saxophone ténor. Ensemble, sous le leadership de McGhee, les deux hommes enregistrent une série de 78 tours pour Aladdin, Modern Music, Melodisc et Dial. Mais, après plus d’une année de travail commun, ils se séparent, McGhee ayant décidé de repartir pour New York. L’amitié liant les deux musiciens ne s’arrêta qu’à la mort du trompettiste en 1987 et – en en dehors des faces gravées en 1946 et 1947 – trois témoignages de cette affection subsistent soit sous le nom de Tedddy, “Together Again!” (Contemporary 3588) qui date de 1961, soit sous le nom de McGhee, “Young at Heart” (Storyville 4080) et “Wise in Time” (Storyville 4081) enregistrés en 1979.
McGhee, who came to Los Angeles with the Coleman Hawkins’ group, had decided to stay there and organize a quintet. He hired Teddy after asking him to give up the saxophone alto for the saxophone tenor. Together, and under the leadership of McGhee, the two of them made a series of 78s for Aladdin, Modern Music, Melodisc and Dial. But after more than a year of common work, they parted McGhee having decided to return to New York. Apart from the sides they made together in 1946 and 1947, three albums witness their musical compatibility and affection, one under Teddy’s name, “Together Again!” (Contemporary 3588) dated 1961, and two under McGhee’s name “Young at Heart” (Storyvillle 4080) and “Wise in Time” (Storyville 4081) made in 1979. The friendship between the two musicians stopped only because of the trumpeter’s death in 1987.
En 1947, établi grâce à ces débuts excitants comme l’un des saxophonists les plus importants de la ville, Teddy travaille avec Benny Carter puis, plus tard, Gerald Wilson, le Lighthouse All Stars d’Howard Rumsey, Hampton Hawes et, lorsqu’il le peut, sa propre unité. En 1954, il fait partie du quintet qui forment, en Californie, Clifford Brown et Max Roach. “Sunset Eyes”, une composition de Teddy, est enregistrée par le groupe dans son album initial (“Brown-Roach in Concert”, GNP 18).
In 1947, acknowledged as one of L.A.’s most important saxophonists because of this exciting beginning, Teddy worked with Benny Carter and, in the following years, Gerald Wilson, Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All Stars, Hampton Hawed and whenever he could, in his own group. In 1954, he was part of a quintet organized in California by Clifford Brown and Max Roach. “Sunset Eyes”, Teddy’s composition, was recorded by the quintet in its initial outing “Brown-Roach Concert” (GNP 18).
Malgré cet exploit qui attire de nouveau l’attention sur lui, Teddy n’est pas au mieux de sa forme au cours des années 50. Trois opérations dentaires, une vésicule biliaire récalcitrante et une vaste absence d’intérêt pour son talent lui donnent des soucis. En 1959, finalement, Richard Bock propriétaire des disques Pacific Jazz, lui fait enregistrer ses deux premiers albums personnels: “It’s About Time (PJ 6) et “Sunset Eyes” (PJ 14). En 1960, c’est l’autre gourou phonographique du jazz californien, Lester Koenig, qui lui prend sous son aile contractuelle, lui faisant graver “Teddy’s Ready” (Contemporary 3583), “Heart & Soul” (C3606) et l’album déjà cité avec Howard Mc Ghee.
In spite of this achievement, Teddy was not in superb shape in the 50’s. Three dental surgeries, a stubborn gallbladder, and a certain lack of public interest for his talent worried him. Finally, in 1959, Richard Bock, owner of Pacific Jazz, gave him the opportunity to record his two first personal albums: “It’s About Time” (Pacific Jazz PJ 6) and “Sunset Eyes” (Pacific Jazz PJ 14). In 1960, the other phonographic guru of California jazz, Lester Koenig, took him under his protective wing, producing “Teddy’s Ready” (Contemporary 3583), “Heart and Soul” (C 3606) and the previously mentioned album with Howard McGhee.
Mais, entre ces sommets d’exaltation que sont les enregistrements d’albums portant son nom et les engagements anonymes dans des boîtes de deuxième ordre, il ya des moments angoissants. Teddy, toutefois, ne cède pas à la déprime. Il profite de toute inactivité instrumentale pour écrire des thèmes et des arrangements. En 1967, ses efforts sont récompensés par un disque personnel (“It’s Allright”, Prestige 7522) où sept des huit morceaux interprêtés sont de sa plume.Et, en 1969, il écrit la totalité des arrangements d’un album pour Booker Ervin, “Booker’n’Brass (Pacific Jazz 20127). C’est là que réside l’un des aspects les moins connus du talent de Teddy Edwards, compositeur, arrangeur et même parolier – Nancy Wilson, Jimmy Witherspoon et Ernie Andrews ont (ou ont eu) à leur répertoire des chansons écrites par Teddy Edwards. Tom Waits s’ajoute aujourd’hui à la liste puisque, dans le présent CD, il chante ‘Little Man” et “I’m Not Your Fool Anymore”, deux oeuvres de Teddy Edwards, paroles et musique.
But between the exhilarating moments of highly-charged recording sessions and anonymous gig in strip joints, there were some anguished periods. Teddy, however, did not allow his depression to impair his artistic impulse, taking advantage of every idle moment to write songs and arrangements.
In 1967, his efforts were rewarded with a personal album “It’s Alright” (Prestige 7522), in which seven of the eight tunes played were his. And in 1969, he wrote all the arrangements of an album for Booker Ervin, “Booker ’n’ Brass” (Pacific Jazz 20127).
It is in the field of composing and arranging, that one of the least known aspects of Teddy-his talent as a lyricist- lies. Nancy Wilson, Jimmy Witherspoon and Ernie Andrews have (or have had) Teddy Edwards’ songs in their repertoire.
Et puisque le nom de Tom Waits, come par inadvertance, apparaît dans ce texte, il est temps de le remercier. Sans lui, cet album n’aurait sans doute jamais vu le jour, malgré l’enthousiasme de son producteur, Jean-Phillipe Allard. Ce n’est en effet que lorsque Tom Waits fit savoir qu’il était non seulement un grand admirateur de Teddy Edwards, mais qu’il aimerait aussi enregistrer avec lui, que les hautes sphères décisionnaires de Polygram donnèrent le feu vert à Jean-Phillipe. Et comme Teddy adore Tom, “Mississippi Lad” naquît dans le bonheur.
Teddy Edwards and Tom Waits Hollywood, CA
March 13 - 14, 1991
Photo by Howard Morehead
Detail from the promotional brochure for Missisippi Lad Leroy Vinnegar photographed by Howard Morehead Hollywood, March 13 -14, 1991
And now comes the addition of Tom Waits to the list: in this CD, he sings “Little man” and “I’m Not Your Fool Anymore”, two songs by Teddy Edwards, music and lyrics. And now a nod of sincere thanks to Tom Waits. Without him, this album would have never been born, in spite of the enthusiasm of its producer Jean-Philippe Allard. For when Tom Waits made it known that not only he was a great admirer of Teddy Edwards, but that he would like to record with him, the top decision makers of PolyGram finally greenlighted the project And since Teddy adores Tom, “Mississippi Lad” was born in happiness.
Dans ce club d’admiration mutuelle font également partie Leroy Vinnegar –venu spécialement pour ces séances de Portland où il vit désormais-,Billy Higgins et Art Hillery les trois musiciens qui établissent les excitantes fondations de cet album. Leroy et Billy sont, pour Teddy, des compagnons de longue date. En effet, Leroy fut le bassiste de la plupart des disques que Teddy enregistra en Californie (dont les deux premiers pour Pacific Jazz) et Billy apparût auprès du saxophoniste dès le deuxième, en 1960.
Also belonging to this mutual admiration club are Leroy Vinnegar, Billy Higgins and Art Hillery, the three musicians who are building this album’s exciting foundations. Leroy – who came from Portland where he now lives especially for these sessions – and Billy are, for Teddy, long time companions. In fact, Leroy has been the bass player on most records that Teddy made for Pacific Jazz) and Billy appeared with the saxophonist in the second, in 1960.
Art Hillery, lui, fait partie de ce groupe de pianistes qui comptent parmi les secrets les mieux gardés de Los Angeles. Les noms de Gildo Mahones et Dwight Dickerson viennent également à l’esprit. Hillery, bien que né à la Nouevlle Orléans en 1925, a été élevé, comme Teddy Edwards, à Jackson, Mississippi. Installé depuis 1955 à Los Angeles, il a joué avec tous les souffleurs locaux comme Harold Land et Red Halloway et de nombreux solistes des passage comme Art Farmer, Joe Henderson et James Moody, surtout à l’époque où il était le pianiste du défunt Parisian Room. Il est sans doute utile de noter que dans la section rythmique formée par Art, Leroy et Billy, est celle qu’Howard McGhee et Teddy Edwards utilisèrent dans leurs deux albums Storyvillle, en 1979.
Art Hillery is part of that group of pianists who are among Los Angeles’ best kept jazz secrets. (The names of Gildo Mahones and Dwight Dickerson also come to mind). Hillery, born in New Orleans in 1925, was raised, like Teddy, in Jackson, Mississippi. Settled in Los Angeles since 1955, he has worked with all the local horn players such as Harold Land and Red Halloway, and with numerous traveling soloists, like Art Farmer, Joe Henderson, and James Moody, mainly when he was house pianist at the now defunct Parisian Room. It is worthy noting that the rhythm section that Art, Leroy and Billy formed is the same as the one backing up Howard McGhee and Teddy Edwards in the two previously mentioned 1979 Storyville albums.
“Mississippi Lad” est sans doute le plus satisfaisant des albums enregistrés par Teddy Edwards au cours de sa longue carrière. Celui qui brosse de son talent le portrait le plus complet. Ici, tous les morceaux, musique simplement ou musique et paroles, tous les arrangements, du duo au septet, sont de lui. Et, partout, Teddy –le- saxophonist déploie son invention mélodique avec cette chaleur communicative que l’on ne rencontre que chez les meilleurs.
“Mississippi Lad” is undoubtedly one of the most satisfying albums made by Teddy Edwards during his long career, mainly because all of it is his. The music, the lyrics, the arrangements…and the spirit that is pure Teddy. And everywhere, Teddy, the saxophonist supreme, displays his melodic invention with a communicative warmth encountered only among the best.
