Teddy Weatherford

Teddy Weatherford was one of the greatest jazz pianists that no one has ever heard of! Weatherford learned to play piano during his period living in New Orleans (1915-20) and he soon became an impressive virtuoso. After moving to Chicago, he worked with several top jazz orchestras including those led by Jimmie Wade and Erskine Tate. He recorded with both of the groups including "Static Strut" and "Stomp Off, Let's Go" with the latter at a time when Louis Armstrong was also a member of Tate's Vendome Orchestra. A brilliant enough player to be Earl Hines' chief rival in Chicago, Weatherford in Aug. 1926 sailed to the Orient with Jack Carter's Orchestra and, except for a brief visit in 1934 and stays in Paris and Sweden in the summer of 1937, Weatherford spent the remainder of his life in Asia; thus his near-anonymity. However Teddy Weatherford was never inactive for he led bands in Singapore, Manila, Shanghai and eventually India where he died of cholera at the age of 41. Teddy Weatherford recorded as a soloist in Paris in 1937 and then in a variety of settings in Calcutta during 1941-44. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide