Buddy Rich

The "world's greatest drummer" as he was usually billed, Buddy Rich earned his reputation as a genuine jazz great, playing with many of the genre's biggest legends. He is credited with modernising the art of drumming, playing with both a pace and musicality that hadn't been heard before; developing an exciting and spectacular style that thrilled audiences and gave the music rhythmic intensity, bringing the drums to the forefront of jazz. His talent was first recognised when he kept rhythm playing spoons along with the music he heard on the radio while still a baby and went on to perform in public as the vaudeville act, Traps The Drum Wonder. In 1937 Rich joined Joe Marsala's band, going on to play with Bunny Berigan and Artie Shaw and making his first recordings with the Andrew Sisters' backing band, the Vic Schoen Orchestra when he was 21. In 1938 he joined Tommy Dorsey's orchestra and, after a spell in the Marines, he formed his own band with the help of financial support from Frank Sinatra. Other bands he played with along the way included Benny Carter, Harry James, Les Brown, Charlie Ventura and Jazz At The Philharmonic, while his talents were also in regular demand for recording sessions, most famously with Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson. He also led his own band for many years and was particularly acclaimed for arranging a medley of tunes from West Side Story in his own inimitable style. Rich died of heart failure in 1987.

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