Theodore Leroy Bunn (May 7, 1910 – July 20, 1978) 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 ...

guitarist who was a member of the

Spirits of Rhythm Spirits of Rhythm were an American jazz string band. The ensemble's members had previously played under several other names (The Sepia Nephews, Ben Bernie's Nephews, The Five Cousins), and upon adding Teddy Bunn as guitarist in 1932, the group ...

during the 1930s.

Early life

Bunn was born in

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, New York.Tanner, Peter (October–November 1978) "The Late Teddy Bunn". ''Storyville''. Volume 79. He had two brothers, Kenneth and Jimmy. Bunn's father played accordion and harmonica; his mother played organ in a church. Bunn was given a guitar by his father, who also gave him some basic instruction; apart from this, Bunn was self-taught. He never learned to read music, so he played by ear.

Career

Bunn was considered one of the best acoustic guitarists of the 1930s. He appeared on record for the first time in 1929 as a member of a trio with trumpeter

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...

and pianist

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, then as a guest with the

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. Soon after, he recorded with the Six Jolly Jesters in the first of many washboard-and-kazoo sessions during his career with bands such as The Washboard Rhythm Kings and the Washboard Serenaders. During the following year, he participated in a rare session with

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and clarinetist Wilton Crawley. He also accompanied vocalists

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, and

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Royal Garden Blues", "I've Found a New B ...

. For the rest of the decade, he recorded with the swing band

led by vocalist

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. Bunn recorded with such musicians as

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

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, and

Jimmie Noone Jimmie Noone (April 23, 1895 – April 19, 1944) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. After beginning his career in New Orleans, he led Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, a Chicago band that recorded for Vocalion and Decca. Classical ...

. He played electric guitar from 1940. He recorded solo numbers for

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

in 1940; after this, his popularity declined. By the 1970s, Bunn played electric guitar almost exclusively in R&B bands. He suffered a stroke after joining

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

's band, and was sick for more than a decade. He died on July 20, 1978, in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 173,51 ...

Playing style

Bunn's playing was "predominantly melodic rather than chordal". He did not use a pick; he used "mostly my thumb, that's how I figured it when I first had that first guitar."

Notes

References

External links

Teddy Bunn recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunn, Teddy 1910 births 1978 deaths American male composers American jazz guitarists Swing guitarists American blues guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Spirits of Rhythm members The Washboard Rhythm Kings members