The earliest jazz groups used the trombone as a rhythm instrument. It was called upon to produce a minimum number of actual notes as it pumped out a bass line. Techniques later improved to the point where a player such as Kid Ory could construct solos on the instrument. Miff Mole is the man generally acknowledged to have been the chief inspiration for players such as Jack Teagarden and Tommy Dorsey, two men who developed the smooth articulation of notes on the trombone and were capable of playing solos with the ease and fluidity of trumpet soloists. Teagarden was a Texan, born in the town of Vernon, near the border with Oklahoma, on August 29, 1905. His mother was an excellent pianist and taught Jack to play the piano, but by the age of ten he had taken up the trombone. He did a variety of musical and non-musical jobs in Texas and Oklahoma during the Twenties, but the first important milestone in his career occurred in February 1928 when he arrived in New York for the first time to play at the Roseland Ballroom with Billy Lustig’s Scranton Sirens. Four months later he joined drummer Ben Pollack’s band and made the acquaintance of Pollack’s clarinettist, Benny Goodman. Teagarden and Goodman were together on many dates with the Pollack band and also with several pick-up groups put together for recording sessions. On March 5 1929, for example, Jack and Benny played on a Pollack date and then Jack went on to record with Louis Armstrong for the very first time. This was the famous Knockin’ A Jug session. It was around this time, too, that Teagarden started to think seriously of becoming an occasional vocalist. Gonna Stomp Mr Henry Lee contains his first recorded vocal solo (he had sung in duet with Mezz Mezzrow on an Eddie Condon session the previous year) and writers were soon to refer to his singing as having “that lazy Texas charm”. Singing became an important part of Teagarden’s professional life and no doubt a useful way of resting from the strain of blowing the trombone all night. Jack’s career seems to have been littered with memorable events, particularly in terms of recordings. Irving Mills put together a band for a studio date in June 1930 which had Jack on trombone, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Bix Beiderbecke. Controversy has since raged as to whether Bix was really on this date, but Teagarden later confirmed that Bix was indeed present. On November 24, 1933, Teagarden was in the band which accompanied Bessie Smith on what proved to be her last recording session. Three days later, and in the same studio, Jack played on Billie Holiday’s very first recording (Your Mother’s Son-In-Law). By now his trombone technique was second to none; his tonal production was the envy of many and the notes were perfectly formed and effortlessly delivered. Jack’s reputation as both singer and trombonist had reached a high plateau by the end of 1933 and in December of that year he signed a five-year contract with Paul Whiteman. His national exposure via concerts and broadcasts became even greater; he and his trumpet-playing brother, Charlie, were popular figures in the Whiteman orchestra and, apart from a month-long period in December 1936, (when the two Teagardens and Frankie Trumbauer took leave of absence from Whiteman to play in New York’s Hickory House as The Three Ts), Jack stayed with the band until the end of his contract. On leaving Whiteman, he set about forming his own big band, which turned out to be a major mistake. The time just wasn’t right for the launch of a new big band and Jack’s business sense was not up to solving all the financial problems involved in touring with a large ensemble – hotel accommodation, band salaries, and so on. The big band records from the period are pleasant and the solos and vocals from the leader are invariably good, but the orchestra lacked the personality and distinctiveness of the established bands of Goodman, the Dorseys and Glenn Miller. Jack eventually disbanded in 1946 and almost immediately went on the road with a small group. He was to spend the rest of his working life with small units, some under his leadership and a very special one fronted by an old friend, Louis Armstrong. The Armstrong All Stars started out as an authentic all-star outfit, with Barney Bigard, Sid Catlett and Earl Hines joining Jack and Louis, but internal rivalries eventually caused many personnel changes. This was unfortunate as the Armstrong-Teagarden team was one of the great partnerships in jazz. Apart from the famous New York Town Hall concert of May 17, 1947 (happily, recorded) and the All Star sessions for Decca in April 1950, there was a session for V Discs (records intended originally for use only by the U.S. Armed Forces radio programmes) in December 1944. Armstrong turned up unexpectedly during the recording and sat in for a couple of numbers, including the exciting Jack Armstrong Blues, included here. After the opening vocal and trombone choruses from Jack and Lou McGarity, Louis plays a magnificent improvised solo which is obviously inspired by the relaxed atmosphere and the quality of the musicians around him. Teagarden’s years with Whiteman turned him into a stage personality and there is no denying the fact that he had set routines and vocals which he knew would be popular with audiences. Songs such as A Hundred Years From Today, Stars Fell On Alabama and Basin Street Blues featured constantly in his concert repertoire but it does not follow that his performances of these popular tunes are unworthy of consideration. However, there is no doubt that he was at his best in the company of his peers, backed by a good rhythm section and playing less commercial material, often a blues of his choice. A particularly rewarding session took place in the Capitol studios at the end of 1943 by an excellent eight-piece band under Teagarden’s leadership. This was, in fact, the last record date made by the New Orleans clarinettist, Jimmy Noone. History has shown that Jack Teagarden played a vital part in the development of the trombone in jazz. He elevated the instrument to a position where the ease of note production made it a true front line horn. The next development in the instrument’s evolution lay in the hands of the beboppers, J. J. Johnson in particular. Jack Teagarden died in New Orleans on January 15, 1964. – Alun Morgan