Stan Levey
| Stan Levey |
| Birth name |
Stanley Levey |
| Born |
(1926-04-05)April 5, 1926
Philadelphia
United States |
| Died |
April 19, 2005(2005-04-19) (aged 79)
Van Nuys, California
United States |
| Genres |
Jazz, bebop
|
| Occupation(s) |
Musician, composer |
| Instruments |
Drums |
| Years active |
1942–1973 |
| Labels |
Bethlehem, Mode, Liberty Records |
| Associated acts |
Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Art Tatum, Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, Erroll Garner, Miles Davis, George Shearing, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Stan Getz, John Lewis, Ray Brown, Sonny Stitt, Barney Bigard, Gerry Mulligan, Vince Guaraldi, Lee Konitz, Bud Shank, Charlie Ventura, Scott LaFaro, Victor Feldman, Art Pepper, Charlie Barnet, Oscar Peterson, Don Byas, Conte Candoli, Joe Thomas, Billy Taylor, Bob Cooper, Al Haig, Milt Jackson, Lucky Thompson, Chuck Wayne, Richie Kamuca, Norman Granz, Bill Holman, Howard Rumsey, Chet Baker, Frank Rosolino, Joe Mondragon, Herb Ellis, Thelonious Monk, Chris Connor, Allen Eager, Jack Sheldon, Hank Jones, Shorty Rogers, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Quincy Jones, Georgie Auld, Charlie Ventura, Boyd Raeburn, Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Skitch Henderson and The Tonight Show Band, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Gary Crosby, Pat Boone, Barbra Streisand, The Supremes, Vic Damone, Nancy Wilson, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Bobby Darin, June Christy, Mel Torme, Lalo Schifrin, Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, André Previn, Neil Hefti, Barney Kessel
|
Stan Levey (April 5, 1926 – April 19, 2005) was an American jazz drummer.
Born in Philadelphia, Levey is considered one of the earliest bebop drummers, one of the very few white drummers involved in the formative years of bebop. He played in Philadelphia with Dizzy Gillespie's group in 1942, at the age of 16. Soon after he went to New York City, where he and Dizzy worked on 52nd Street with Charlie Parker and Oscar Pettiford.
After his tenure with the Stan Kenton Orchestra he moved to the West Coast in 1954, joining Howard Rumsey, Don Joham and the Lighthouse All-Stars, and was a major influence in West Coast jazz. Though "cool" jazz was common on the West Coast, Levey's crisp, melodic style continued to have more in common with bop than cool, and he inspired every group he ever played in. A left-handed drummer, Levey has played on over thousands of recordings, including those with musicians Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and with bands such as that of Quincy Jones, and Skitch Henderson and The Tonight Show Band.
Levey retired from the music business in 1973 to become a professional photographer. He died at age 79, two months after surgery for cancer of the jaw, in Van Nuys, California.
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Wikipedia
