Teddy Buckner; Popular Jazz Trumpeter

Jazz trumpeter John Edward (Teddy) Buckner, whose Satchmo-influenced music delighted three generations of fans, has died in Los Angeles following a long bout with arthritis. He was 85.

“He may be gone, but his music is still going on--and it’s beautiful,” Donald Buckner, his second son, said Sunday, referring to his father’s many recordings, which are still popular here and in Europe. “He was the greatest.”

Buckner, whose idol was Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong, began playing professionally in Los Angeles when he was 15, according to jazz historian Floyd Levin, who knew him for four decades. “Teddy Buckner had it all--the ability to play with melodic flavor and taste and a good technique,” he said.

As a member of Buck Clayton’s orchestra, Buckner played in Shanghai in 1934, and when he returned to Los Angeles, he joined Lionel Hampton’s band. When Hampton left California to join Benny Goodman, Buckner took over the band.

He gained prominence in the late 1940s as a member of Kid Ory’s Creole Jazz Band. He performed in such Hollywood films as “Pennies from Heaven” with Bing Crosby, “Pete Kelly’s Blues” and “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.”

For 15 years, between the 1960s and early 1980s, Buckner was a popular attraction in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square.

“I don’t think anybody (else) survived that long at Disneyland,” Levin said.

Jovial and easygoing, Buckner was known for keeping his musicians in a profession with high turnover.

In a 1967 story, Times jazz critic Leonard Feather noted that Buckner, “a long Southland favorite, has the stablest personnel in town.”

His music was popular in France, where his “Parisian Encounter” remains in demand. “We’re still getting (royalty) checks from France,” Donald Buckner said.

Back in 1970, when Levin produced a concert to celebrate Armstrong’s 70th birthday, Buckner played Armstrong’s role in one of the acts.

Buckner, who had been suffering from arthritis for several years, was bedridden since the death of his wife, Minnie, last year.

“He sort of gave up,” Donald Buckner said. “He was broken-hearted.”

Surviving the jazz great are three sons: John Jr., Donald and Lionel; eight grandsons, two granddaughters and two great-grandsons.

Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at Conner Johnson Mortuary, 4700 Avalon Blvd. in Los Angeles.