Teddy Bunn
Encyclopedia
Teddy Bunn was a top-rated American blues
and jazz
guitarist in the 1930s.
Theodore Bunn was born in Freeport, New York
in 1909. Twenty years later in 1929 he began recording with Duke Ellington
as a guest performer. From 1929 to 1931, he played with The Washboard Serenaders. He recorded with the Spirits of Rhythm
from 1932 to 1937 and again from 1939 to 1941.
Bunn recorded with such musicians as Sidney Bechet, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, J.C. Higginbotam and Lionel Hampton. After he recorded four solo numbers for Blue Note, his popularity apparently declined.
By the 1970s Bunn played electric guitar almost exclusively in R&B
bands. He died on July 20, 1978 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
guitarist in the 1930s.
Theodore Bunn was born in Freeport, New York
Freeport, New York
Freeport is a village in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, USA, on the South Shore of Long Island. The population was 42,860 at the 2010 census. A settlement since the 1640s, it was once an oystering community and later a resort popular with the New York City theater community...
in 1909. Twenty years later in 1929 he began recording with Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
as a guest performer. From 1929 to 1931, he played with The Washboard Serenaders. He recorded with the Spirits of Rhythm
Spirits of Rhythm
Spirits of Rhythm were an American jazz string band.The ensemble's members had previously played under several other names , and upon adding Teddy Bunn as guitarist in 1932, the group began calling itself Spirits of Rhythm...
from 1932 to 1937 and again from 1939 to 1941.
Bunn recorded with such musicians as Sidney Bechet, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, J.C. Higginbotam and Lionel Hampton. After he recorded four solo numbers for Blue Note, his popularity apparently declined.
By the 1970s Bunn played electric guitar almost exclusively in R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
bands. He died on July 20, 1978 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.