Referred to by Duke Ellington as “not only the world’s greatest drummer...(but
also) the world’s greatest musician!”, Louie Bellson has expressed himself on
drums since age three. At 15, he pioneered the double bass drum set-up. At 17,
he triumphed over 40,000 drummers to win the Gene Krupa drumming contest.
He has performed on more than 200 albums with such greats as Duke Ellington,
Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Woody Herman, Sarah
Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Armstrong,
Lionel Hampton, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Joe
Williams, Wayne Newton and Bellson’s late wife Pearl Bailey.
Composer and author, he has written more than 1,000 compositions and more than a
dozen books on drums and percussion. He received the prestigious American Jazz
Masters Award from the
National Endowment for the Arts in 1994. Also, he is a six-time Grammy
nominee.
In 1998, Louie Bellson was hailed (along with Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones and Max
Roach) as one of four “Living Legends of Music” when he received the
American Drummers Achievement Award from the Zildjian Company.
Bellson holds four honorary doctorates, the latest from DePaul University in
2001. In 2003, a historical land-marker was dedicated at his July 6, 1924 birth
house in Rock Falls, Illinois, thus inaugurating their
annual 3-day celebration in his honor.
The 2006 CD release of “The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson and the Jazz Ballet”
amply showcased his mastery and breadth as both composer and performer. This
“magnum opus” is well attested to by the highest accolades of colleagues Tony
Bennett, Della Reese, Dave Brubeck, Lalo Schifrin, and others.
CDBaby.com
In March 2007, Bellson and 35 other jazz greats received the
Living Jazz Legends Award from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, DC. In June 2007, the American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers inducted Bellson as a Living Legend in the
ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame ceremony, Jazz at the Lincoln Center, New York City.
Other links to read and hear clips of this legendary drummer.
Louie Bellson famous 1957 Drum Solo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG4Y0N9bi10
Louie Bellson & his Explosion Big Band from the Cork Jazz Festival 1980,play his solo from' Explosion'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfNeTdETW5U
Louie Bellson on The Johnny Carson Show – circa 1988
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFD6M3oSwUs&feature=related
Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson Drum Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aESWZplEUqA&feature=related
