Teddy Bunn
Teddy Bunn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Theodore Leroy Bunn |
| Born | May 7, 1910[1] Freeport,New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 20, 1978(aged 69) Lancaster,California |
| Genres | Jazz,swing |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1929–1960s |
| Formerly of | Spirits of Rhythm |
Theodore Leroy Bunn(May 7, 1910[a]– July 20, 1978)[3]was an Americanjazzguitarist who was a member of theSpirits of Rhythmduring the 1930s.
Early life
[edit]Bunn was born inFreeport,New York.[4]: 3 He had two brothers, Kenneth and Jimmy.[4]: 3 Bunn's father played accordion and harmonica; his mother played organ in a church.[4]: 3 Bunn was given a guitar by his father, who also gave him some basic instruction; apart from this, Bunn was self-taught.[4]: 3 He never learned to read music, so he played by ear.[4]: 6
Career
[edit]Bunn was considered one of the best acoustic guitarists of the 1930s.[3]He appeared on record for the first time in 1929 as a member of a trio with trumpeterRed Allenand pianistFats Pichon,then as a guest with theDuke Ellington Orchestra.Soon after, he recorded with the Six Jolly Jesters in the first of many washboard-and-kazoo sessions during his career with bands such asThe Washboard Rhythm Kingsand the Washboard Serenaders. During the following year, he participated in a rare session withJelly Roll Mortonand clarinetistWilton Crawley.He also accompanied vocalistsVictoria Spivey,Lizzie Miles,andSpencer Williams.For the rest of the decade, he recorded with the swing bandSpirits of Rhythmled by vocalistLeo Watson.[5]
Bunn recorded with such musicians asSidney Bechet,Hadda Brooks,Johnny Dodds,J. C. Higginbotham,Lionel Hampton,andJimmie Noone.[3]He played electric guitar from 1940.[4]: 4 He recorded solo numbers forBlue Notein 1940;[4]: 6 after this, his popularity declined.[3]
By the 1970s, Bunn played electric guitar almost exclusively inR&Bbands.[3]He suffered a stroke after joiningLouis Jordan's band,[4]: 7 and was sick for more than a decade.[4]: 3 He died on July 20, 1978, inLancaster, California.[4]: 3
Playing style
[edit]Bunn's playing was "predominantly melodic rather than chordal".[2]He did not use a pick; he used "mostly my thumb, that's how I figured it when I first had that first guitar."[4]: 6
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2021-06-03.Retrieved2021-06-03.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^abSimmen, Johnny; Rye, Howard; Kernfeld, Barry"Bunn, Teddy".InThe New Grove Dictionary of Jazz(Second ed.) Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.Oxford University Press.Retrieved December 9, 2014. [Subscription required].
- ^abcdeColin Larkin,ed. (1992).The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz(First ed.).Guinness Publishing.p. 69.ISBN0-85112-580-8.
- ^abcdefghijkTanner, Peter (October–November 1978) "The Late Teddy Bunn".Storyville.Volume 79.
- ^Yanow, Scott (2013).The Great Jazz Guitarists.San Francisco: Backbeat. pp. 34–35.ISBN978-1-61713-023-6.
External links
[edit]
- 1910 births
- 1978 deaths
- American male composers
- American jazz guitarists
- Swing guitarists
- American blues guitarists
- American male guitarists
- 20th-century American composers
- 20th-century American guitarists
- 20th-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians
- Spirits of Rhythm members
- The Washboard Rhythm Kings members
- African-American jazz guitarists