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Louie Bellson

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Louie Bellson
From left: Louie Bellson, Cat Anderson, and Clark Terry at the Palomar Supper Club, April 19, 1952, with the Duke Ellington Orchestra; photo courtesy of Fraser MacPherson estate
From left: Louie Bellson,Cat Anderson,andClark Terryat the Palomar Supper Club, April 19, 1952, with theDuke Ellington Orchestra;photo courtesy ofFraser MacPhersonestate
Background information
Birth nameLuigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni
Born(1924-07-06)July 6, 1924
Rock Falls, Illinois
DiedFebruary 14, 2009(2009-02-14)(aged 84)
Los Angeles, California
GenresJazz,big band,swing
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader
Instrument(s)Drums
Years active1931–2009
LabelsRoulette,Concord,Pablo,Musicmasters
Formerly ofDuke Ellington Orchestra
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m.1952; died 1990)​

Louie Bellson(bornLuigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni,July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources asLouis Bellson,although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an Americanjazzdrummer. He was a composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz educator, and is credited with pioneering the use of twobass drums.[1]

Bellson and his wife, actress and singerPearl Bailey[2](married from 1952 until Bailey's death in 1990), had the second highest number of appearances at theWhite House(onlyBob Hopehad more).

Bellson was a vice president atRemo,a drum company.[3]He was inducted into theModern DrummerHall of Fame in 1985.[4]

Biography[edit]

Bellson playing in 1980

Bellson was born inRock Falls, Illinois,in 1924, where his father owned a music store. He started playing drums at three years of age. While still a young child, Bellson's father moved the family and music store toMoline, Illinois.[5]At 15, he pioneered using two bass drums at the same time, a technique he invented in his high school art class.[6]At age 17, he triumphed over 40,000 drummers to win theSlingerlandNational Gene Krupa contest.[7]

After graduating fromMoline High Schoolin 1942, he worked with big bands throughout the 1940s, withBenny Goodman,Tommy Dorsey,Harry James,andDuke Ellington.In 1952, he married jazz singerPearl Bailey.During the 1950s, he played with the Dorsey Brothers, Jazz at the Philharmonic, acted as Bailey's music director, and recorded as a leader forNorgran RecordsandVerve Records.[8]

Over the years, his sidemen includedRay Brown,PeteandConte Candoli,Chuck Findley,John Heard,Roger Ingram,Don Menza,Blue Mitchell,Larry Novak,Nat Pierce,Frank Rosolino,Bobby Shew,Clark Terry,andSnooky Young.

In an interview in 2005 withJazz Connectionmagazine, he cited as influencesJo Jones,Sid Catlett,andChick Webb."I have to give just dues to two guys who really got me off on the drums – Big Sid Catlett and Jo Jones. They were my influences. All three of us realized what Jo Jones did and it influenced a lot of us. We all three looked to Jo as the 'Papa' who really did it.Genehelped bring the drums to the foreground as a solo instrument.Buddywas a great natural player. But we also have to look back at Chick Webb's contributions, too. "[9]

During the 1960s, he returned to Ellington's orchestra for Emancipation Proclamation Centennial stage production,My Peoplein and forA Concert of Sacred Music,which is sometimes called The First Sacred Concert. Ellington called these concerts "the most important thing I have ever done."[10]

Bellson's albumThe Sacred Music of Louie Bellson and the Jazz Balletappeared in 2006. In May 2009, Francine Bellson toldThe Jazz Joy and Roysyndicated radio show, "I like to call (Sacred) 'how the Master used two maestros,'" adding, "When (Ellington) did his sacred concert back in 1965 with Louie on drums, he told Louie that the sacred concerts were based on 'in-the-beginning,' the first three words of the Bible." She recalled how Ellington explained to Louie that "in the beginning there was lightning and thunder and that's you!" Ellington exclaimed, pointing out that Louie's drums were the thunder. Both Ellington and Louie, says Mrs. Bellson, were deeply religious. "Ellington told Louie, 'You ought to do a sacred concert of your own' and so it was," said Bellson, adding, "'The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson' combines symphony, big band and choir, while 'The Jazz Ballet' is based on the vows of Holy Matrimony..."[11]

On December 5, 1971, he took part in a memorial concert at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall for drummer Frank King. This tribute show also featuredBuddy Richand British drummerKenny Clare.The orchestra was led by Irish trombonistBobby Lamband American trombonistRaymond Premru.A few years later, Rich (often called the world's greatest drummer) paid Bellson a compliment by asking him to lead his band on tour while he (Rich) was temporarily disabled by a back injury. Bellson accepted.[9]

On February 14, 2009, Bellson died at age 84 from complications of a broken hip suffered in December 2008 andParkinson's disease.He is buried next to his father inRiverside Cemetery, Moline, Illinois.[12]

Compositions and arrangements[edit]

From left: Chris Gage, Louie Bellson, Stan "Cuddles" Johnson, Tony Gage,Fraser MacPherson,Harry Carney(Photo from the Fraser MacPherson estate)

As a prolific creator of music, both written and improvised, his compositions and arrangements (in the hundreds) embrace jazz, jazz/rock/fusion, romantic orchestral suites, symphonic works and a ballet. Bellson was also a poet and a lyricist. His only Broadway venture,Portofino(1958), was a resounding flop that closed after three performances.[13]

As an author, he published more than a dozen books on drums and percussion. He was at work with his biographer on a book chronicling his career and bearing the same name as one of his compositions, "Skin Deep". In addition, "The London Suite" (recorded on his albumLouie in London) was performed at the Hollywood Pilgrimage Bowl before a record-breaking audience. The three-part work includes a choral section in which a 12-voice choir sings lyrics penned by Bellson. Part One is the band's rousing "Carnaby Street", a collaboration with Jack Hayes.[9]

In 1987, at the Percussive Arts Society convention in Washington, D.C., Bellson andHarold Farbermanperformed a major orchestral work titled "Concerto for Jazz Drummer and Full Orchestra", the first piece ever written specifically for jazz drummer and full symphony orchestra. This work was recorded by theBournemouth Symphony Orchestrain England, and was released by the Swedish labelBIS.[9]

Drum tutoring[edit]

Bellson was known throughout his career to conduct drum and band clinics at high schools, colleges and music stores.[9]

Bellson maintained a tight schedule of clinics and performances of both big bands and small bands in colleges, clubs and concert halls. In between, he continued to record and compose, resulting in more than 100 albums and more than 300 compositions. Bellson'sTelarcdebut recording,Louie Bellson And His Big Band: Live From New York,was released in June 1994. He also created new drum technology forRemo,of which he was vice-president.[14]

Bellson received an honoraryDoctor of Humane Lettersin 1985 atNorthern Illinois University.As of 2005, among other performing activities, Bellson had visited his home town of Rock Falls, Illinois, every July for Louie Bellson Heritage Days, a weekend in his honor close to his July 6 birthday, with receptions, music clinics and other performances by Bellson.[1]At the 2004 event celebrating his 80th birthday, Bellson said, "I'm not that old; I'm 40 in this leg, and 40 in the other leg."[15]He celebrated his birthday every year at theRiver Music ExperienceinDavenport, Iowa.

Awards and honors[edit]

Bellson was voted into the Halls of Fame forModern Drummermagazine, in 1985, and the Percussive Arts Society, in 1978.Yale Universitynamed him a Duke Ellington Fellow in 1977. He received an honorary doctorate from Northern Illinois University in 1985. He performed his original concert – Tomus I, II, III – with the Washington Civic Symphony in historicConstitution Hallin 1993. A combination of full symphony orchestra, big-band ensemble and 80-voice choir, "Tomus" was a collaboration of music by Bellson and lyrics by his late wife, Pearl Bailey. Bellson was a nine-timeGrammy Awardnominee.[16]

In January 1994, Bellson received theNEA Jazz MastersAward from theNational Endowment for the Arts.[17]As one of three recipients, he was lauded by NEA chair Jane Alexander, who said, "These colossal talents have helped write the history of jazz in America."[18]

Personal life[edit]

On November 19, 1952, Bellson married American actress and singerPearl Bailey,in London. Bellson and Bailey adopted a son, Tony, in the mid-1950s, and a daughter, Dee Dee (born April 20, 1960).[19]After Bailey's death in 1990, Bellson married Francine Wright in September 1992.[12]Wright, who had trained as a physicist and engineer atMIT,[20]became his manager. The union lasted until his death.[3]Dee Dee Bellson died on July 4, 2009, at age 49, within five months of her father.

Discography[edit]

As leader[edit]

As sideman[edit]

WithCount Basie

WithCount BasieandZoot Sims

WithBenny Carter

WithBuddy Collette

WithDuke Ellington

WithDizzy Gillespie

WithStephane Grappelli

  • Classic Sessions: Stephane Grappelli, with Phil Woods and Louie Bellson(RTV, 1987)

WithJohnny Hodges

WithHarry James

WithOscar Peterson

WithMel Powell

WithLinda Ronstadt

WithSonny Stitt

WithToni Tennille

  • More Than You Know(Mirage, 1984)
  • Do It Again(USA Music Group, 1988)

With The Trumpet Kings

WithBig Joe Turner

WithSarah Vaughan

WithBen Webster

WithJoe Williams

  • With Love(Temponic, 1972)

DVD[edit]

  • 2001Classic Drum Solos and Drum Battles DVD(Hal Leonard)[26]

Filmography[edit]

  • 2003Louis Bellson and His Big Band(VIEW)[27]
  • 2007Cobham Meets Bellson(VIEW)[28]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abNational Endowment for the Arts biography of Louis BellsonArchivedJanuary 22, 2009, at theWayback Machine,January 1994; accessed January 2009.
  2. ^Heckman, Don (February 17, 2009)."Los Angeles Times obituary".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedOctober 2,2011.
  3. ^abChinen, Nate (February 17, 2009)."Louie Bellson, Dynamic Jazz Drummer, Dies at 84".The New York Times.RetrievedJanuary 1,2017.
  4. ^"Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 1979–2014".Modern Drummer.RetrievedAugust 10,2015.
  5. ^Burke, David."Louie Bellson remembered as 'world's greatest drummer'".The Quad-City Times.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  6. ^"Louie Bellson Legacy | The ONLY official Louie Bellson Website! | Home".Louiebellson.info.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  7. ^Bellson, Louie (October 17, 1997).Louie Bellson Honors 12 Super-drummers: Their Time was the Greatest!.Alfred Music Publishing.ISBN9780769216928– via Google Books.
  8. ^Yanow, Scott."Louie Bellson | Biography & History | AllMusic".AllMusic.Retrieved1 January2017.
  9. ^abcdeFratallone, Stephen (March 14, 2018)."Connections in Swing: Volume One: The Bandleaders".BearManor Media.ISBN978-1-62933-264-2– via Google Books.
  10. ^Schiff, David (January 7, 2012).The Ellington Century.University of California Press.ISBN9780520245877– via Google Books.
  11. ^"The Jazz Joy and Roy Daily Podcast and Syndication Network".Jazzjoyandroy.com.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  12. ^abBurke, David."Louie Bellson's widow shares memories of her husband".The Quad-City Times.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  13. ^The Broadway League."Portofinoat Internet Broadway Database ".Ibdb.com.Retrieved2011-10-02.
  14. ^Fratallone, Stephen (March 14, 2018)."Connections in Swing: Volume One: The Bandleaders".BearManor Media – via Google Books.
  15. ^Rob Howe,Drum! Magazine,September/October 2004, pg. 30.
  16. ^"Discover hidden connections".Grammyconnect.com.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  17. ^"NEA Jazz Masters 1994".Arts.gov.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  18. ^"NEA names 3 'masters of jazz'".Variety.com.December 28, 1993.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  19. ^"Jazz news: Dee Dee Bellson Singer, Daughter of Bailey, Bellson".News.allaboutjazz.com.20 July 2009.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  20. ^"Obituary".Telegraph.co.uk. February 16, 2009.Retrieved2011-10-02.
  21. ^"Louis Bellson - With Bells On!".Discogs.com.1979.RetrievedOctober 17,2019.
  22. ^"Louie Bellson profile".AllMusic.RetrievedJanuary 1,2017.
  23. ^"Juke Box Jamboree".Allmusic.RetrievedDecember 20,2018.
  24. ^OCLC8782372
  25. ^"1948-1949".Allmusic.Retrieved20 December2018.
  26. ^"HL Product Listing".Halleonard.com.Retrieved2011-10-02.
  27. ^"VIEW DVD Listing".View.com.Retrieved2011-10-02.
  28. ^Artist: Cobham, Billy & Louie Bellson."VIEW DVD Listing".View.com.Retrieved2011-10-02.

External links[edit]

Archives at
LocationMusic Division, Library of Congress
SourceLouis Bellson collection, 1943-1996
How to use archival material
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