Born: July 16, 1909 Sherman, Texas - Died: October 4, 1994 Los Angeles, California, USA

Teddy was born John Edward Buckner in Texas, but was raised and lived most of his life in the Los Angeles area.

In the early 1930's he played trumpet with Sonny Clay and in 1934 he worked with Buck Clayton's band.

Clayton gave him the opportunity to develop his own riffs and even featured Buckner on many solos when the band toured Shanghai.

After the tour he returned to L. A. where he joined Lionel Hampton's group.

In November 1936, Benny Goodman was returning from a gig when he discovered the talents of the young Hampton playing at the Paradise Club.

Buckner took over leadership of the band when Goodman took Hampton to New York.

During the war most of the band members joined the armed services and the band disappeared.

At the war's end, Buckner worked and recorded with Benny Carter and Kid Ory (with Ory he was featured on, "Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula").

He formed another band in 1954 to record three Dixieland Jubilee Albums.

That same band toured the West Coast towards the end of the decade.

(Trivia: His trumpet talents can be heard at the beginning of the 1955 movie, "Pete Kelly's Blues.")

Kid Ory's band was featured on a live radio remote from the Club Hangover during the mid '50's.

The show was aired in New Orleans and heard around the country.

Buckner developed a fantastic solo on the old hymn, "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" that would often close the show.

The announcer remarked that the song was, "one of the most beautiful things you'll ever hear."

Recordings of Buckner's unaccompanied muted trumpet lulling the noisy club into silence, are now available.

"Teddy Buckner had one of the most beautiful tones on trumpet you'd ever want to hear," recalled Lionel Hampton.

"He played so well that Louis Armstrong gave him a horn and said, 'Man, you're a real trumpet player!"'

Notes by Mr Dan Del Fiorentino (2003)

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