Teddy Napoleon
Teddy George Napoleon (* as George Napoli, January 23, 1914 in Brooklyn , † July 5, 1964 in Elmhurst , New Jersey ) was an American pianist of swing .
Napoleon was a nephew of the trumpeter Phil Napoleon and the older brother of the pianist Marty Napoleon . In 1933 he made his debut with Lee Castle (Castaldo) in a Chinese restaurant and then worked for three years with the band Tommy Tompkins. He then went freelancing in New York, playing at 52nd Street clubs with the Sande Williams Society Band. He played with the big bands of Johnny Messner and Bob Chester and was with Gene Krupa and His Orchestra from 1944 . He stayed with Krupa with interruptions until 1958 and also played with him in the trio line-ups, for example in the 1940s with Charlie Ventura and at the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts. In 1952 he went to Japan and Sweden with the Trio von Krupa and in 1954 to Australia. In 1955 he played with his brother Marty.
He also played with Flip Phillips , Bill Harris and Eddie Shu . In 1959 he moved to Florida (North Miami), where he led his own trio and also played with Phillips and Harris. In addition to Krupa, he recorded with Sam Donahue , Lionel Hampton , Mel Tormé , Neal Hefti , but never under his own name. After Scott Yanow , his main influence was Teddy Wilson , Napoleon himself gave Oscar Peterson as a role model.
Web links
References
- ↑ around 1960, for the Encyclopedia of Jazz by Leonard Feather
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Napoleon, Teddy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Napoleon, Teddy George (full name); Napoli, George (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 23, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th July 1964 |
| Place of death | Elmhurst |