Norma Louise Teagarden (April 28, 1911 – June 6, 1996) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist. She was born in

Vernon, Texas Vernon is a city and the county seat of Wilbarger County, Texas, United States. and as of the 2010 Census had a population of 11,002. History The original town was called Eagle Springs by the indigenous community as early as 1858. After the ...

, United States, into a musical family that consisted of her mother Helen, who played

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

piano and taught; her brothers

Charlie Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...

, a trumpeter, Clois, a drummer, and Jack, a trombonist. She performed with her brother Jack during the 1940s and 1950s. She performed on piano and violin during the early part of her career, which began in Oklahoma City. In the 1920s, she moved to New Mexico and worked in

territory bands Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, six or seven n ...

, returned to Oklahoma City in the 1930s, and then moved to California in the 1940s. She toured with her brother Jack from 1944–1947 and from 1952–1955. Outside the Teagarden family, she worked with Ben Pollack, Matty Matlock, and Ray Bauduc. She eventually settled in San Francisco, where she often performed on solo piano, or with bandleader Turk Murphy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teagarden, Norma 1911 births 1996 deaths People from Vernon, Texas American jazz pianists Women jazz pianists 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Texas