Teddy Kotick

[yesdot]

Does anyone have any biography info on this guy? Cant find nuthin... Any reccomended recordings?

[mapleleaf4evr]

He played on "New Jazz Conceptions", a Bill Evans trio album. Paul Motion was the drummer. It was recorded around 1957 I think.

[mapleleaf4evr]

He played on "New Jazz Conceptions", a Bill Evans trio album. Paul Motian was the drummer. It was recorded around 1957 I think.

[Ed Fuqua]

Bird called him his "favorite bassist". I'd recommend checking out the Stan Getz (the money) Quintet - Stan, Jimmy Raney, Al Haig, Teddy and Tiny Kahn.

You might also try e-mailing my buddy Jon Raney (who posts here as nypiano); Teddy used to play with his dad and he knows Teddy's son...

[STRONGBOW]

Theodore John (Teddy) KOTICK

-- born 6/4/28 in Haverhill Massachussetts

-- Professional debut in NYC 1948 with Johnny Bothwell

-- with Buddy Rich, Tony Pastor and Buddy DeFranco sextette through the late 1940s.

-- With Artie Shaw in 1950

-- Stan Getz from 1951-1953

-- Off and on with Bird, 1953-1955 (Bird's death)

-- with Horace Silver Quintet, 1957-1958

-- freelance in NYC post-1958

Records with: BIRD (Verve), Stan Getz (Roost, Verve), Horace Silver (Blue Note), Phil Woods/Bob Brookmeyer (Prestige), Teddy Charles (Atlantic), Nick Travis/Tony Scott (Victor), Bill Evans (Riverside), Jimmy Knepper (Bethlehem), George Wallington (Prestige and Atlantic)

Don't know if any of the above have been re-issued on Compact Disc......

[Don Higdon]

Teddy worked everywhere, with everybody. This was before steel strings and amps. Worked his a$$ off.
I saw him at Storyville backing Anita O'Day. The other band on the bill was Miles. Coltrane was just beginning his sheets of sound. This was a year before it came out on record.

[Paul Warburton]

Teddy, obviously, was one of our un-sung heros.....the ability to play with both Bird and Bill kinda says it all.

[teleharmonium]

IIRC he is on George Russell's "the Jazz Workshop" on RCA which is a great record.

[yesdot]

I have a couple Bird sides featuring Kotick. Hoping to pick some other stuff up soon. Thanks for the suggestions. Cheers Ed.

There's a great portrait of him from the Horace Silver sessions in Wolff's Blue Note book. Next to nothing mentioned in Bird/Evans/Getz biographies...

[Don Higdon]

Originally Posted by yesdot

. Next to nothing mentioned in Bird/Evans/Getz biographies...

In Kotick's era, bassists got scant notice. Amps and sustaining steel strings opened up the possibilities for the bassist to solo, and the public began to pay more attention.

[msw]

Teddy is also on a Al Cohn-Zoot Sims recording. I transcribed a blues in Db where he walked for 2 choruses for his solo. It is loaded with great lines! The record is called "The Al Cohn Quintet Featuring Zoot Sims 1957" It is worth tracking down.

[STRONGBOW]

Originally Posted by msw

Teddy is also on a Al Cohn-Zoot Sims recording. I transcribed a blues in Db where he walked for 2 choruses for his solo. It is loaded with great lines! The record is called "The Al Cohn Quintet Featuring Zoot Sims 1957" It is worth tracking down.

Ummm....yeah....I forgot that one....I got it in the vault somewhere.....

[yesdot]

Originally Posted by Don Higdon

In Kotick's era, bassists got scant notice. Amps and sustaining steel strings opened up the possibilities for the bassist to solo, and the public began to pay more attention.

Thats true, but the biographies I mentioned were all published in the last twenty years. Usually there is an anecdote or two of sidemen in a biography.

[Ed Fuqua]

There's a great Roy Haynes quote from the 60s, something to the effect of "I'm not crazy, so nobody knows who I am." Teddy didn't seem to involve himself in either self destructive or overly self aggrandizing behaviour, so he didn't attract a lot of attention off the stand.

[msw]

I got to know him the last years of his life. I subbed several times in a trio he was part of with Joe Hunt and the late Tony Zano.
Teddy was a recovering addict. I suspect one reason he isn't as well known is that he dropped out of music and got a day job once he sobered up. I think he was not active for 10 years or more. He re-entered music in the early 80's, initially as an elctric player! (He had sold his bass when he quit). He did not teach at Berklee. He was a VERY shy and humble person He kept the day job untill he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

[Mark Carlsen]

I deleted an earlier post as my thoughts that Teddy had taught at Berklee were totally false.For some reason I remember a picture w. the bass faculty at Berklee and Teddy from maybe the late 80's.I think I saw it at Bruce Gertz's place.Anyways, sorry for the misinformation....I somehow thought he had taught there in his last years.Shows what I know....

[yesdot]

Thankyou to everyone for sharing their knowledge on this subject. MSW, I am sorry to learn of the tragedy of Kotick's later years. I'll definately track down that Cohn/Zoot album.

[Paul Warburton]

It's threads like this that completely knock me out! If it weren't for us, cats like Teddy would be gone and forgotten.

Ya'll give your own selves a huge pat on the back.
Teddy, we're still listening to you!

[Michael Glynn]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Teddy, we're still listening to you!

Amen to that! I really enjoy Teddy's playing. If I might recommend a record, I think Phil Wood's "Woodlore" has some great bass work. Teddy even gets to stretch out with a nice solo on the last track. The bass is very clear and present on the record as well.

[Ed Fuqua]

We played HOUSE PARTY STARTING at the session last night and nobody could remember what the tempo on the record was, so I Goggled it today and damn if Teddy Kotick and Al McKibbon weren't the bassists on Herbie Nichols BLUE NOTE records.