Biography
I was born on the lower east side, of Madison, Wisconsin that is. A town where the hippies won, and colorful murals and rusting VW Microbuses dotted the streets. There were railroads running right down the middle of the street in front of my house, and I liked to walk along them with my dad, past the culvert factory and the power plant, where you could see a giant scoop come down and pick up coal to feed the fires inside. I liked to pick up a piece of coal as we walked or a railroad nail. Dad had a reel-to-reel tape player with bootlegs of Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Fela Kuti and he had plenty of records too: Miles Davis, Albert King, Pharoah Sanders, Dylan. Williamson street, at the top of the hill, was the home of the Willy Street Parade each fall. The bubble blowing car was a mainstay of the parade and the best costume was always the butterfy man with giant wings. Everyone was in costume and in the parade though and the streets were lined with bands and drum circles and karate demonstrations.
From this bohemian enclave, I ventured out. I saved up money, worked at a fast food restaurant and took myself to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival when I was seventeen. After that it was all over. I moved there as soon as I could. Earned a degree in Music as the University of New Orleans, where Ellis Marsalis held court, and headed out on the road with a jam band called, Idletime. It was grassroots. We made our own flyers and slept on couches across the country, eatin’ sandwiches in the van and booking gigs ourselves. Before the dot-com bubbles burst, and the towers fell, and we ran way behind on bills, I saw the whole country. California, Colorado, and every town with a stage in The South. New Orleans was running out of steam, but I wanted to take another look before I moved on. I got a job doing renovations and repairs in a section eight complex, where I made lots of friends, heard lots of stories and had lots of tools and even a pick-up truck. I found my way back to Frenchmen Street and started sittin’ in with everybody, especially old time jazz musicians. Picked up gigs with Blake Amos, and Tondrae, and Warren Battiste and put together my own jazz band do originals and my favorite standards.
New York was calling. I moved to the big city in July of '03. The City put me in my place fast. I found myself starving and playing on the subway platform for tips. Gradually, met more musicians, and learned the ropes and things started to happen. I picked a regular jazz gig with my trio and worked around the region with everyone from funk bands like Milo Z, Wedding Bands, to singer-songwriters such as CJ Vinson and DavidK. I caught my breath, and then I began to reflect and to write....
Instrumentation
Ted Hefko, Vocals, Sax, Acoustic Guitar
Wilson Montouri, Lead Guitar
Anne Leberwirth, Bass
Rodney Ledbetter, Drums
Discography
Ted Hefko (self titled) 2008
The Ted Hefko Jazz Band with Warren Battiste - 2008
Ted Hefko Sings and Swings with His New Orleans Band -2006
Ted Hefko, Live at the Blue Nile, Frenchmen Street in New Orleans - 2004
Idletime, "Time Stops" Louisiana Red Hot Records 2000
Links
| http://www.ted.hefko.net |