Louie Bellson (1924-2009)
Swing drumming great Louie Bellson passed away on February 14th at the age of eighty-four. Initially inspired by Chick Webb and Sid Catlett, Louie found his drumming voice very early on by combining the clear melodic phrasing and rudimental soloing style of Gene Krupa with the swinging groove of Papa Jo Jones and the extraordinary speed of Buddy Rich. Besides his great technique and always-musical approach to the drums, Bellson was responsible for designing the first double bass drum setup and popularizing its use – thus pioneering a new approach that was later adopted by many rock drummers. The LA Times has a full obit on this drumming legend up now This Link.
Ah so sad. I have some serious respect for the old drummers. Thinking about getting a kit of my own.
On that subject, Joe Morello is easily my fav of all the ‘old school’ drummers. These clips blow me away:
..and skip to 1:46 here: