Frank Teschemacher
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Frank Teschemacher (March 13, 1906 - March 1, 1932) was a jazz clarinetist and alto-saxophonist, associated with the "Austin High" gang (along with Jimmy McPartland, Bud Freeman, et al.). He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but spent most of his career based in Chicago, Illinois although gigs sometimes took him to New York City, around the U.S. Midwest, and a job in Florida with Charlie Straight.
He was mainly self taught on his instruments; early on he also doubled on violin and banjo. He started playing the clarinet professionally in 1925. He began recording under his own name in 1928, and made what are believed to be his final recordings two years later. His intense solo work laid the groundwork for a style of clarinet playing of which Pee Wee Russell is perhaps the best-known representative. He also made recordings on the saxophone. Late in his career, he returned to playing violin, with Jan Garber's sweet dance orchestra, trying to earn a living in the midst of the Great Depression. Although he was well known in the world of jazz, Teschemacher did not live to enjoy any popular success with the advent of the swing era. As a passenger in a car driven by his friend, cornetist "Wild" Bill Davison, Teschemacher was killed in an auto accident on the morning of March 1, 1932, several days short of what would have been his twenty-sixth birthday.