Jazz legend Louis Bellson dies

[pepperbear]

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=30205

I had the pleasure of meeting this gentleman one time. He was a gem and one of the best drummers to have ever walked the face of the earth.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Wasn't he

Pearl Bailey's husband?

Great drummer.

[pepperbear]

2. that is correct. n/t

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. wow, I think he wrote the book

we used in band about a million years ago

[Bluebear]

4. Joining wife Pearl Bailey in the great beyond...

fare thee well, Mr. Bellson.

[Captain Hilts]

8. So cool she ditched it all and went to college.

I think she's a Hampton Roads girl. She and Ella, who, I think, started out in Newport News.

[Wiley50]

12. He's really gonna love crossing those Pearly Gates again, I bet

Oh yeah... Those Too

[Blue-Jay]

5. Awesome drummer!

However... I haven't thought of him in so many years, I just figured he was already dead.

/terrible but true.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

6. How old was he?

I think they lived here in the DC area for a while. Pearl Bailey had a role in someone's government - Reagan, perhaps?

Let me google -

Nope, she was Nixon's "Ambassador of Love."

How could she do anything for Nixon?

Oh, well.

Bellson was 84 when he died on Valentine's Day.

[havocmom]

10. She did a lot for humanity. She and her dashing husband were heroes to my mom

and many of us held them up as examples of how love and dignity would bring our nation beyond the foolish burden of racism.

Mom and Dad were musicians. They thought a lot of Mr Bellson and his lovely bride. The road was tough enough for musicians, but Bellson and Bailey really had to deal with a lot of shit out there. And they did it with dignity and grace.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. And they married in 1952, if I recall correctly

That was a decade before Loving v. Virginia was decided. So, yeah, they were really gutsy.

Still, the idea of a Nixon association repels me.

[havocmom]

13. The lady had enough love to get past Dick.

And Dick was smart enough to see her power.

[Captain Hilts]

7. Oh, my. That is a great loss. And I'm a Krupa fan. Drum in peace, Louis! nt

[jmowreader]

9. Louie Bellson invented the double bass drum when he was only 15

[GReedDiamond]

18. One of the best, a true innovator...

...his legacy lives on.

[misanthrope]

14. Thanks for everything, Mr. Bellson!**nm

**

[marybourg]

15. He and Ms Bailey were on the same Amtrak long distance train

as Mr Marybourg and me about 27 years ago. Ms Bailey, a gracious lady, received admirers at the open door of her compartment, but Mr Bellson (I'm assuming it was he; we were told he was her husband) was hamming it up in the observation car, singing and imbibing and generally creating hilarity til the early morning hours.

[jaysunb]

16. I'm sending you a "heart" to welcome you

to DU and thank you for sharing a lovely story.

RIP Louie....

[That Is Quite Enough]

17. Sad day. Such a loss. :(

[enigmatic]

19. One of the great drummers of all-time

RIP Mr. Bellson.

[dana_b]

20. my friend knew him as her dad

plsyed with him. her dad played sax. I guess they're up there playing together now.