About Ted Straeter
Artist Biography
Ted Straeter had a piano style that no less a figure than Walter Damrosch labeled "stardust" -- and the description of the mood stuck to the man's music for the rest of his career, and made that career. Born in St. Louis, MO, in the second decade of the 20th century -- the decade known informally as the "teens" -- Straeter was the boy wonder of the local music scene, making his debut as a professional pianist at age 12, organizing his own orchestra a year later, and getting featured on his own radio show at 14. He even took a 16-piece band on tour in the Midwest while he was still in high school. He only took a breather from this early start on a career to pick up the formal study of music at 17, and after a couple of years he had opened his own school, working as vocal coach for Benay Venuta, Carol Bruce, and Dorothy Kirsten, who were his contemporaries. When he first got to New York, Irving Berlin reportedly got him his first steady gig, playing in Tin Pan Alley, and he impressed Billy Rose well enough so that the latter put him into the stage musical Jumbo, and he later worked as the arranger and director of choral music for Kate Smith's radio show, and also played with Paul Whiteman. The Damrosch quote set him up with the public and the columnists, and by the 1950s, Straeter was leading his own orchestra, with a distinctive piano sound all his own. They also made a string of recordings and were featured at choice night spots such as the Persian Room (where he played accompaniment to artists such as Lisa Kirk). His albums included The Most Beautiful Girl in the World on MGM, a Richard Rodgers collection on that company's sublabel, Lion, and Ted Staeter's New York, released by Atlantic in June of 1955. ~ Bruce Eder
Genre
Jazz
Similar to: Ted Straeter
Discover more music and artists similar to Ted Straeter, like Lanny Ross, Pinky Tomlin, Richard Himber