Larry Teal (26 March 1905 - 11 July 1984) is considered by many to be the father of American orchestral saxophoneLaurence Lyon (Larry) Teal earned a bachelor's degree in pre-dentistry from the University of Michigan. Although he came to the University of Michigan to study dentistry, he soon became involved with Wilson's Wolverines—a jazz band with a more than local following. He toured Europe with them for several years and later returned to the States only to be recruited by Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra of Detroit, one of the important society orchestras of the period. He later earned a Doctor of Music from the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts in 1943.

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