Jack Teagarden: I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues

Swing Era and Big Band Era are not necessarily synonymous. Medium-sized groups produced much of the Swing Era's finest music. Here's a case in point. Benny Goodman was nominal leader, but the star is Jack Teagarden. As surely as Louis Armstrong redefined the jazz trumpet's role, Teagarden revolutionized jazz trombone. With trumpet promoted to bravura centerpiece, Teagarden subdued his instrument's traditional tailgate bluster in favor of understatement. Yet while playing half as loudly, Teagarden played twice as skillfully, developing unprecedented technical control. Add to that his laid-back singing, and the Texan's soft-spoken eloquence is more persuasive than the noisiest rant.