Search - Jack Teagarden :: Big 't'

MUST HAVE FOR TROMBONE PLAYERS!!!!!

Michael J. Rocha | Boston, MA | 03/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best bargain for an incredible look at Teagarden's work from the mid 20s to just after he was with Louis and the All-Stars. I can't believe how underated he is and hopefully this set will open some ears. There is no question that he put jazz trombone on the map. His vocals show his versatility and how he is able to hold his own with Armstrong. Several came before him such as miff mole,charlie green, kid ory, and jimmy harrison but Big T is the real deal. Also, listening closely to his technique it is possible to extropolate to JJ Johnson, Carl Fontana and Frank Rosolino.



5 stars to this compilation and hats off to proper records for filling an obvious void- thanks!!! I rate this collection above Teagarden's King of the Blues Trombone box set but that set is also an excellent supplement to the proper set.



I also recommend the DVD Dixieland Jazz Vol.1 which has about 9 cuts of JT from the 50s. The other half of that dvd is crosby's bobcats."

Another winning Proper Box Set

Benjamin Thomas | ukiah, ca United States | 12/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"these sets are the best bargain in jazz rereleases, both for the price and the quality (including complete liner notes). The Teagarden set ranks at the top, mostly of course because it is Teagarden. The anthologies are perhaps even better -- Hitting on All Six and The Engine Room -- see my reviews. But Teagarden is a giant of a musician, as a singer but even more as arguably the greatest trombone player in jazz. I realized that his voice and his trombone have the same tone -- which is cool."

A Less Well-Known Legend of Jazz Shines!

Marilyn Jones | Austin, Texas | 11/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had never heard of Jack Teagarden before doing a YouTube search for "Stars Fell on Alabama," which I suddenly wanted to hear for some reason. Up popped Jack singing the song so beautifully in his comfortable drawl and sending it into a new-to-me dimension with the trombone, that I'll never be happy with anyone else's rendition.



This box set is well worth the price, which is low for what you get. The 46-page book seems thorough and has about 20 pictures, more or less. The details are there for all the 92 songs on the four disks.



Vernon, Texas, has a museum where it's two famous musicians, Roy Orbison and Jack Teagarden, are mentioned but, according to one website, the many European jazz aficionados who make a pilgrimage to Vernon every year are invariably disappointed by the little to be found. I think I'll drive the five hours due north anyway just to pay homage to both of them one of these days.



"Stars Fell on Alabama," incidentally, was published in 1934, and written by Frank Perkins with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. There really was a "night the stars fell on Alabama." On November 12-13, 1833, the Leonid meteor shower was so spectacular in the Southeast, and especially in Alabama, that people thought the world was coming to an end. It became one of those where-were-you-when moments for that area. There's much written online about it and it's worth googling."