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Thread: Louie Bellson - Famous Drummers

  1. #1

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    Default Louie Bellson - Famous Drummers

    Ever wonder who started and revolutionized drumming with the use of the double bass drum set up?



    Drummer: Louie Bellson
    Main Style: Jazz, Big Band
    Main Band: Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey and countless others.
    Brief Summary: Born July 6, 1924. At age 15 he pioneered the use of the double bass drum. When he was 17 years old he beat over 40,000 other contestants in the United States, winning the Slingerland Gene Krupa contest. He was a vice president at Remo and was a good friend of Armand Zildjian. He was a drummer, composer, band leader, four time grammy award winner, father and husband. Louie passed away on Feb. 14, 2009.
    Other Facts: Louie's greatest contribution was to further educate musicians though clinics and tutoring at high schools and colleges. He had a very hectic schedule and still managed to record more than 100 albums and write over 300 compositions. His dedication to music in schools was legendary.
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  2. #2

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    Proof that metal was born from jazz. Lol jk, but the double bass part is true. Thats really cool, I knew that some guy who played jazz developed the idea of double bass, but I never knew his name until now.
    On top of it his Birthday is 2 days before mine (not the same year, the same month)! Thanks for posting this, it's really fun to read these!
    -DrumRookie

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  3. #3

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    Cool guy! Fun to watch. Ironic, even though he once won a Slingerland drum contest, once eventually famous, he is then shown here with some great Rogers drums.

  4. #4

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    Last edited by Olimpass; 04-01-2020 at 07:19 AM.

  5. #5

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    I always thought Louie was more musical in his playing than Buddy Rich. Buddy had the better chops, but Louie was more interesting to listen to. (Plus he was easier to get along with.)
    And the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw. . .

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by =^-..-^= View Post
    I always thought Louie was more musical in his playing than Buddy Rich. Buddy had the better chops, but Louie was more interesting to listen to. (Plus he was easier to get along with.)

    Louie was more musical in his playing and loved to talk drums, a consumate gentleman.

    Buddy was a great guy once he was off stage. He would rather talk cars than drums.

  7. #7

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    Never a truer gent walked the planet than Louis Bellson. The guy that brought double bass drumming to the fore. And living proof that generally, us drummers are nice guys!

    We miss you, Louis.....
    "...it's the Paradigm Of The Cosmos!" Stewart Copeland on Youtube

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  8. #8

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    I grew up with the name Louis Bellson. I graduated from the same High School ( diiferent building ). As soon as I knew I wanted to play drums, my grandmother was telling me about him. I went to a clinic that was held at Augustana college, with a neighbor, who is himself, an established jazz drummer, and got to meet Mr. Bellson and got his autograph, and took it home and gave it to my grandma. I still have it. Later that night they had a concert, with him and the college jazz band. What a thrill it was to see him play. I have many players who have influeced me, but he will always rank #1.
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  9. #9

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    Had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with him for a few minutes years ago at a jazz festival. Very nice guy, and fantastic mucisian.
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  10. #10

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    Between Louie and Buddy, Louie probably had the "cleaner" technique.

    The difference to me, was that I looked at them as 2 Ferraris in a land of Volkswagons. Louie would go to the red line, but Buddy was always going past the red line.

    The first time I got to meet him is a long story, but, suffice it to say, he was the CONSUMATE gentleman in every way.

  11. #11

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    Astonishing drummer.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    Between Louie and Buddy, Louie probably had the "cleaner" technique.

    The difference to me, was that I looked at them as 2 Ferraris in a land of Volkswagons. Louie would go to the red line, but Buddy was always going past the red line.

    The first time I got to meet him is a long story, but, suffice it to say, he was the CONSUMATE gentleman in every way.
    Absolutely spot on!

    I met him in the 80's when he visited my university and spent a week with us, doing clinics and he played with us on our fall concert. He was so nice with us and took time to answer our questions. Just a wonderful guy.

    Don't let anybody kid you, he had incredible chops! Seeing him up close was proof enough for me, and I was always a Buddy Rich guy! Just tremendous. He had incredible technique, especially on the snare drum. Many many great memories. Watching him warm up was something I will never forget.

  13. #13

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    Louie is my absolute favorite drummer! I met him once at a clinic. There were very few people there, so each person that had a question got the full and long answer. I asked him about a comment he had made in an interview about not counting while playing. I asked him how he keeps a solo in time without counting. He went on to explain that he meorized phrases by how many bars they lasted, then used enough to fit the solo section of a song. Then he played an amazing solo for 32 bars, just for me!

    Years later, when I saw that he had an online presence, I emailed him to thank him for that moment. His agent emailed me back for my home address, and a few days later I received a snail mail letter from him, saying that he remembered the day and always enjoyed visits to my city (which was Rochester NY at the time).

    Louie describes Buddy as the only person who can walk into an empty room and start an argument!
    Last edited by Mottster; 03-25-2016 at 07:35 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mottster View Post
    Louie is my absolute favorite drummer! I met him once at a clinic. There were very few people there, so each person that had a question got the full and long answer. I asked him about a comment he had made in an interview about not counting while playing. I asked him how he keeps a solo in time without counting. He went on to explain that he meorized phrases by how many bars they lasted, then used enough to fit the solo section of a song. Then he played an amazing solo for 32 bars, just for me!

    Years later, when I saw that he had an online presence, I emailed him to thank him for that moment. His agent emailed me back for my home address, and a few days later I received a snail mail letter from him, saying that he remembered the day and always enjoyed visits to my city (which was Rochester NY at the time).

    Louie describes Buddy as the only person who can walk into an empty room and start an argument!
    That's a great story! Thanks for sharing and asking that question about counting out his solos...

  15. #15

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    Last edited by Olimpass; 04-01-2020 at 07:16 AM.

  16. #16

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    ^That was too cool!!

  17. #17

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    Here is one of my favorite Bellson compositions, "What Makes Moses Run." From what I consider to be his Masterpiece Album "East Side Suite."


  18. #18

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    Very cool! My former drum teacher was a disciple of Mr. Bellson. He had many stories about him. When he was a youngster, though already accomplished as a player, Mr. Bellson found him and took him under his wing, and in fact, my teacher actually lived with him for some time as he learned the nuances of drumming. Lots of stories. My teacher's name was John Freixas. Heckuva drummer, and heckuva teacher, too. I need to go back to him.
    Now, just a tiny bit less than an absolute drum newbie
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  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by cabasner View Post
    Very cool! My former drum teacher was a disciple of Mr. Bellson. He had many stories about him. When he was a youngster, though already accomplished as a player, Mr. Bellson found him and took him under his wing, and in fact, my teacher actually lived with him for some time as he learned the nuances of drumming. Lots of stories. My teacher's name was John Freixas. Heckuva drummer, and heckuva teacher, too. I need to go back to him.
    That's pretty awesome!

  20. #20

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    Hi, I was also a student of John Frexias for about 4 years, I would still be studying with him if I lived in Las Vegas. John is the real deal. An amazing player in multiple genres who had a great career, played shows word wide( Eddie Money, Tears for Fears, Alice Cooper, Mel Torme on and on) and is also a wonderful teacher with a gentile soul. Many times when I took a lesson, I didn’t touch the kit. Not that I didn’t need the the training but we got sidetracked in music theory or interpersonal dynamics of how to hold a band together or many other topics. Don’t get me wrong he knows the nuts and bolts like nobody I ever met but also so much more. I spent several days in a Berklee seminar with a dept. head in percussion, the teacher was a great player in jazz, but he wouldn’t make a pimple on John’s ***. Nothing against Berklee- my current teacher in CO is a Berklee grad. MHO John could be in the top 10 teachers in the US. He took over 4 years of private lessons with Spivak while attending Cal State Northridge and getting private lessons from Louis Bellson whenever he was home from the road. Yes John is Louie’s protege, Louie took to him while John was in high school on the strength of his playing, calling John the best natural player he had ever seen. He got John a full scholarship at Cal Northridge, a room at Louie’s house and payed for privates with Spivak. Can you imagine the pressure when you show up for the first day of class at Northridge with Louie in his limo and the dean of the school comes out of his office to open the door of the limo. Target on your back from day one. Any way I could go on and on but I know it’s all true cause I got to watch a tape of Bellson’s last public performance playing duets with John in front of a 19 swing band that John put together. The look in Louie’s eyes were that of a proud father. I started drumming on a lark at age 51. 8 years later I am in a dangerous new band fronted by a 25 year old. We have 2 hours of good original music and are starting to work on our first album and are playing out in the Denver area. I think that I am here today standing on John’s shoulders.

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