Weatherford, Teddy

Weatherford, Teddy, jazz pianist, arranger (leader); b. Bluefield, W.Va., Oct. 11, 1903; d. Calcutta, India, April 25,1945. He lived in New Orleans from 1915 until 1920; during this time, he learned to play piano. He moved to Chicago, did extensive gigging, then regular work with Jimmie Wade and Erskine Tate. Weatherford sailed to the Orient with Jack Carter’s Orch. in August 1926. He remained to work in the Far East, then led his own band in Singapore, Manila, and Shanghai. He briefly returned to the U.S. in 1934 to recruit Buck Clayton’s Big Band for residency at Candidrome, Shanghai. Except for a visit to the Paris International Exposition (summer 1937) and some appearances later that year in Sweden, he worked in Asia for the rest of his life; his band played for a long residency at the Grand Hotel, Calcutta, also appearing in Bombay, Ceylon, and other Indian cities. He made a number of recordings while in India, some under his own name, others as featured accompanist for various popular artists, including American singer Bob Lee, violinist Zarata, and singer Paquita. Weatherford died of cholera in the Presidency General Hospital, Calcutta.

Discography

Louis Armstrong Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1923); 1923-1926 (1925); Young Louis The Sideman (1924-27); “Static Strut”/”Stomp Off, Let’s Go” (1926); “Tea for Two”/”Weather Beaten Blues” (1937); “Weather Blues”/ “Maple Leaf Rag” (1937); Piano and Swing (1938). EDDIE SOUTH: 1923-1937 (1923); “Someday Sweetheart”/”Mobile Blues” (1923).

—John Chilton/Lewis Porter