Born April 26, 1924 in Jackson, Mississippi, TEDDY EDWARDS started to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone, then on clarinet. The Royal Mississippians, with Doc Parmley, was his first professional job. He moved frequently in his teens, joining the band of Ernie Fields and landing in Los Angeles at the Club Alabam on Central Avenue in 1944; the city would became his permanent home. He next worked with Roy Milton’s Rhythm & Blues Band, Howard McGhee, and – after McGhee suggested that he switch to tenor sax – with trumpeter Fats Navarro. In 1947, Edwards made his first of many recordings as a leader and composer, The Duel, with Dexter Gordon. That same day he also recorded his million-selling hit, “Blues in Teddy’s Flat.” Throughout the 1950s and ’60s, he performed regularly with such jazz greats as Benny Carter, Les McCann, Max Roach, and Clifford Brown, as well as becoming an original Lighthouse All Star at that famed Hermosa Beach club. Edwards has since toured and recorded with a host of jazz greats, including Milt Jackson, Ray Brown, Billy Higgins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Earl Hines, among many others, as well as performing his own compositions in concerts here and abroad, and touring and recording with popular singer/songwriter Tom Waits.

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