Teddy Charles is a legendary vibraphone player, who also plays marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, and percussion.
Born as Theodore Charles Cohen in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts in 1928, he began his musical career studying at Juilliard School of Music as a percussionist. Later he started recording and making personal appearances as Teddy Cohen. In 1951 he changed his last name to Charles.
He was a major league jazzman from the late-1940s to the mid-1960s, working with many jazz luminaries including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Shorty Rogers, Dion DiMucci, Jimmy Giuffre, and Charles Mingus, pianists Sonny Clark and Mal Waldron, saxophonists Eric Dolphy and Gigi Gryce and arranger Gil Evans. Teddy made more than 20 albums as a leader.
Teddy Charles used to play in Benny Goodman's orchestra, as well as Artie Shaw's and Buddy DeFranco's band.
More recently he played in his own Teddy Charles Quintet, and in Walter Wolff Trio.
René Engel
