Jazz / Bop, Hard Bop, West Coast Jazz
Teddy Edwards - Sax (Tenor), Arranger
Dutch Repro - Lithography
Henk Haverhoek - Bass
John Engels - Drums
Joost Leijen - Cover Design
Maarssenbroek - Lithography
Rein Graaff - Piano
Wim Wigt - Producer
This obscure live CD features the underrated tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards in top form stretching out on three standards ("Lady Be Good," "Oleo" and "Georgia On My Mind") and his own "Good Gravy." Joined by a Dutch rhythm section (pianist Rein De Graaff, bassist Henk Haverhoek and drummer John Engels), Edwards builds up his solos expertly and plenty of sparks fly. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Teddy Edwards
Active Decades: '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Apr 26, 1924 in Jackson, MS
Died: Apr 20, 2003 in Los Angeles, CA
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Bop, Hard Bop, West Coast Jazz
Teddy Edwards was, with Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray, the top young tenor of the late '40s. Unlike the other two, he chose to remain in Los Angeles and has been underrated through the years but remained in prime form well into his 70s. Early on, he toured with Ernie Fields' Orchestra, moving to L.A. in 1945 to work with Roy Milton as an altoist. Edwards switched to tenor when he joined Howard McGhee's band and was featured in many jam sessions during the era, recording "The Duel" with Dexter Gordon in 1947. A natural-born leader, Edwards did work briefly with Max Roach & Clifford Brown (1954), Benny Carter (1955), and Benny Goodman (1964), and he recorded in the 1960s with Milt Jackson and Jimmy Smith. But it was his own records -- for Onyx (1947-1948), Pacific Jazz, Contemporary (1960-1962), Prestige, Xanadu, Muse, SteepleChase, Timeless, and Antilles -- that best displayed his playing and writing; "Sunset Eyes" is Edwards' best-known original.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
