Legendary drummer Louie Bellson has died aged 84.
Bellson (real name Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni) performed with many of the greats of Jazz in over 200 records, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman. Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong.
As well as providing a beat to countless tracks, Bellson was also prolific composer and writer, having written over 1,000 compositions and arrangements in jazz, swing, orchestral suites, symphonic works and ballets. Drummers worldwide also know him for his over a dozen books on drums and percussion.
Alongside his wife, the late actress and singer Pearl Bailey, he holds the record for the second highest number of appearances at the White House; only Bob Hope has appeared more.
Bellson died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
Details of a memorial service in Los Angeles will be posted on his official website here.
(in part via Variety)
