Teddy Powell

Teddy Powell (born Teodoro Paolella; March 1, 1905 – November 17, 1993) was an American jazz musician, band leader, composer, and arranger. Some of his compositions were written under the pseudonym Freddy James.

Born in Oakland, California, Powell began playing violin when he was eight years old and picked up the banjo when he was fourteen. During the late 1920s to the early 1930s, he was a member of the Abe Lyman orchestra, taking on the additional tasks of gathering radio bands. He formed the Teddy Powell Orchestra in 1939 and it performed through the 1940s. and is still being recorded by modern performers, as listed in the recordings database of the Finnish national broadcasting company Yle.

After the band folded, Powell wrote music and arrangements. managed by Clarence Avant.