Teddy Edwards, RIP

[Jim R]

It has been announced on other boards that Teddy Edwards passed away yesterday in L.A. He was in his 80's (not bad for a jazzman!). I put off listening to his music for too long, and I'm still trying to catch up with his recordings. Here's a nice illustrated discography:

Teddy Edwards discography

[AfricaBrass]

This is very sad news.

He was a true giant.

[JohnS]

Sad news. I saw him here a few years back, a very nice approachable guy.

[BeBop]

A great player...

An ambassador from a great era of jazz...

And, in my experience, a nice guy.

RIP, Teddy Edwards.

[J.A.W.]

It has been announced on other boards that Teddy Edwards passed away yesterday in L.A. He was in his 80's (not bad for a jazzman!).

Another sad loss He died just 6 days before his 79th birthday... (he was born on April 26, 1924)

[Jim R]

Thanks for the correction, Hans. I should have checked my information.

[sidewinder]

This is very sad news and a huge loss to the LA jazz scene. I didn't realise that Teddy was so close to his 80th - he looked much younger than this and his persona always came across at gigs as so full of life and energy. Just glad that I caught a rare gig of his in NYC several years ago and on that occasion he certainly delivered the goods. RIP Teddy - another tenor legend and bebop originator departs the scene ...

[RonF]

Smooth Sailing Teddy's new one on HighNote was just released last week. Very sad news.

[catesta]

I was really bummed when I read this.

R.I.P. Teddy.

[BruceH]

Terrible news. He was one of the great LA players, and deserved far more recognition than he got. R.I.P.

[Soul Stream]

If you want to see/hear for yourself how great Teddy Edwards was...buy/rent his Jazz Scene USA DVD. His ballad (self-penned I believe) "Afraid Of Love" is about as stirring, emotional and just plain brilliant a jazz ballad performance as you'll ever see. The statement of the theme itself is gut-wrenching.

I loved Teddy Edwards. Another great one gone. Check out some of his Prestige stuff if you can, (afraid of love is on one of those)....

[Jim Alfredson]

I'll be spinning Jimmy Smith's Bluesmith tomorrow in memory.

[brownie]

Very sad news. Another great player goes.

Last saw him in Paris when he accompanied Tom Waits.

[Bataki]

Really sad news. I listened to him in clubs in Paris a couple of times in the 80's. He played in Sweden quite a lot, and here he is remembered not just for being a great tenor player, but also for his friendly and nice ways with people.

[Vincent, Paris]

LA Times Obituary follows :

"April 22, 2003

OBITUARIES

Teddy Edwards, 78; Bebop Tenor Sax Player Was in L.A.'s Jazz Scene

By Lynell George, Times Staff Writer

Teddy Edwards, the bebop-era tenor saxophonist considered one of the crown jewels of Los Angeles' Central Avenue jazz scene of the 1940s, died Sunday in Los Angeles after a long bout with prostate cancer. He was 78.

Because Edwards remained loyal to Los Angeles as his home base and inspiration rather than heading to the more lucrative jazz mecca of New York City, his contributions have often been minimized or obscured — sometimes by the very East Coast-based players he had influenced.

Despite his West Coast address and a career marked by scattered fits and starts and missed opportunities, he is widely credited with recording the first bop solo for tenor sax, on the recording by the ensemble of trumpeter Howard McGhee of "Up in Dodo's Room," and with influencing a sturdy line of tenor players as diverse as Sonny Rollins, Stanley Turrentine and Joshua Redman.

"He was one of the first to play full-blown bebop," said Steve Isoardi, editor of "Central Avenue Sounds, Jazz in Los Angeles," a comprehensive oral history of the era. "There were people here earlier, like Coleman Hawkins, who had bands that were just passing through." But Edwards and McGhee, Isoardi said, were local. "And in regard to shaping the young guys coming up, you can't overstate his influence."

Born Theodore Monroe Edwards in Jackson, Miss., Edwards moved to Detroit in 1940 at the urging of an uncle who wanted to expose his nephew to a range of professional opportunities. It was there he first picked up the alto sax. Within months, he was collecting a string of paying gigs. He ultimately fell in with various touring bands in Michigan and Florida, where he was exposed to hard-playing proto-boppers McGhee, Wardell Gray and Al McKibben.

Eventually, Edwards settled in Southern California, taking advantage of the wartime boom and finding his place in the kinetic music scene that had lighted up along L.A.'s Central Avenue. L.A. was a 24-hour town, dotted with crowded clubs and after-hour rooms where the space between R&B and jazz was narrow. It wasn't uncommon for jazz musicians to perform alongside or become members of R&B bands.

Consequently, Edwards honed his craft in various settings, picking up the tenor saxophone and learning how to blow hot and cool: blues-inflected or soulful. After playing with R&B singer Roy Milton, he was invited to join McGhee's ensemble, where his signature sound and improvisational style began to take shape.

"He always reminded me of the old saxophone players, like Prez [Lester Young], Dexter Gordon and all those guys," said L.A.-based jazz pianist Art Hillery, who was from Edwards' hometown. "He just had that big sound."

Up until then, the horns of Hawkins and Young had set high standards for the tenor. "Dodo's," with its Charlie Parker-like speed and jutting lines, played on tenor rather than alto, took the scope of tenor playing elsewhere.

"He was known for his originality," said Central Avenue alumnus and L.A. jazz great Buddy Collette. "He always went his own direction. There are always people who want you to sound like someone else. But Teddy had this fast, choppy sound, and they wanted him to sound melodic. But he went his own way. He always wanted to prove something. 'I can make it on my terms. I don't have to do studio work!' "

Edwards became known for a charging, up-tempo, bluesy style. But he was equally effective coaxing a sweet, burnished tone out of the tenor. "I'm trying to learn how to make love to the thing now," Edwards told The Times in 1995. "I could always run up and down the horn, but when it's all boiled down, I'm at my best when I'm playing a pretty song."

His most famous tune, "Blues in Teddy's Flat," recorded in 1947 for Dial Records, became a jazz standard, though Edwards told The Times in 1992 that he had earned $41.27 for the recording, "and I haven't seen another quarter since."

Another recording, "The Duel," was an energized follow-up to another famous saxophone pairing — "The Chase" by Wardell Gray and Dexter Gordon. The 1947 recording pitted Edwards against Gordon in a classic "cutting session," testing the prowess of the soloists as they traded a flurry of searing, one-upmanship blasts. Ultimately, Gordon became known as king of bop tenor.

As the Central Avenue scene slowed, Edwards looked toward other options. He joined a high-profile power quintet led by Max Roach and Sonny Stitt, but when pressed to choose between staying home with his young family and going on the road with the ensemble, Edwards chose family, and he was replaced by Harold Land. Working the local scene, he also became part of Howard Rumsey's original Lighthouse All-Stars.

Like many jazz musicians who remained on the West Coast, Edwards pieced together a living playing clubs, casuals and parties. He recorded a smattering of solo dates for the Contemporary, Pacific Jazz and Prestige labels, but none of them were as pivotal as his early work. Through the '60s and '70s, Edwards shared stages with Benny Goodman, Milt Jackson and Sarah Vaughan. His Brass String Ensemble, for which he started writing in 1976, allowed him another creative outlet.

Though Edwards had been battling cancer and other ailments, he continued to work well into his 70s. Singer-songwriter Tom Waits toured with Edwards in the early '80s and recorded the "One From the Heart" film score with Edwards in 1992. Waits also resurrected Edwards' career in the early '90s when he hooked up Edwards on the Antilles label and sang two of Edwards' compositions on the album "Mississippi Lad."

Waits said Monday he was "sad because he was a good friend. I loved him.

"I think music is going to miss him as one of the architects of bebop. That tone of his is just unmistakable. He sounded like he was drinking champagne on a train, you know what I mean?"

Edwards is survived by a son, Teddy Edwards Jr., and a sister, Velma Diaz-Infante, both of Los Angeles, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Plans for services are pending. The family requests that contributions be sent to the Teddy Edwards Memorial Scholarship Fund, Compton College, 1111 E. Artesia Blvd., Compton, CA 90221.

Link to LA Times online

[JazzKitten]

This is really sad news indeed. I had the privilege to sit next to Mr. Edwards during a concert a couple of years ago at the Bebop Convention in LA. I struck up a conversation with him, and I found that he was a really very nice and down to earth kind of guy (and he laughed at my jokes).

Since I will soon be the happy new owner of a tenor sax, I shall dedicate the first song I learn to Mr. Edwards.

JazzKitten

[BFrank]

A couple comments on the LA Times obit.

1) About his stint with Max Roach: It says that he didn't want to tour and was replaced by Harold Land in the group. I thought that was Land's story and that HE was replaced by Sonny Rollins.

2) The film "One From The Heart" was 1982, not 1992.

[RDK]

I had the great pleasaure of seeing Teddy Edwards lead his Brass-String ensemble at what was unfortunately a sad event - a local fundraiser for the late drummer Billy Higgins. I had only known Teddy's music from a couple of CDs at the time, but hearing his "jazz orchestra" (which included a harp and a trio of violins!) was breathtaking. It was an utterly unique sound that is only barely captured on "Blue Saxophone." I had the chance to say a few words to Teddy and shake his hand at the event, and all I can say is that he was one classy gentleman. Unfortunately his illness prevented him from playing much the last few years; I can only wish that I had discovered his talents sooner and that he could have been with us longer. He will be missed.

Ray

[Rooster_Ties]

Anybody heard this CD before?? Jimmy Woods is on it.

Here's The AMG review...

"Back to Avalon" (recorded in 1960, not released until 1995):

Although rejected at the time it was recorded, this octet session by tenor-saxophonist Teddy Edwards sounded pretty good when it was finally released in 1995. There are some minor slip-ups in some of the ensembles and Edwards is the only significant soloist (although altoist Jimmy Woods and baritonist Modesto Brisenio were talented players) but the leader is in fine form and his arrangements manage to be both complicated and swinging Five of the nine songs (all but "You Don't Know What Love Is," "Sweet Georgia Brown" and two versions of "Avalon") are Edwards', highlighted by "Our Last Goodbye" and "Good Gravy." A worthwhile if not essential release. — Scott Yanow

Edited May 10, 2003 by Rooster_Ties

[John L]

About his stint with Max Roach: It says that he didn't want to tour and was replaced by Harold Land in the group. I thought that was Land's story and that HE was replaced by Sonny Rollins.

Yes. So where is the contradiction?

[JSngry]

Unless I'm totally off on all this, Land did tour for a while, but had to return/remain in L.A. for family reasons, necessitating his resignation. Edwards apparently didn't want to leave LA in the first place, thus Land's getting of the gig.

[BFrank]

So, they both turned down the gig for geographic/family reasons?

[JSngry]

I think Land's mother took ill and Harold wanted to tend to her. Not sure what Teddy's trip was. At least he got captured on record w/the group, that GNP thing.

[JSngry]

Anybody heard this CD before??

Yeah. It's MY-T-FINE indeed.

[Shawn]

Up for some air:

I've been spending a good bit of time recently checking out his CDs released in the OJC series and man is this some killer music! Just love his tone and overall conception...slashing and driving (although always tasteful) on uptempo material, lush and expressive on ballads.

The album Good Gravy! is a standout, check out his lovely "way behind the beat" playing during On Green Dolphin Street. One of those rare players that can easily play laid back...but still sound totally vibrant.

I'm looking forward to exploring more of his work.

...Anybody ever see that great video of him playing with Sonny Criss & Sweets Edison?