US: Drumming legend Bellson dead at 84
18 Feb 2009 3:23 AM
LOS ANGELES, Feb 17 AFP - Legendary big band and jazz drummer Louie Bellson has died aged 84, a statement on the musician's website said on Tuesday.
Bellson, whose career saw him play alongside legendary figures such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong, passed away in Los Angeles on Saturday, the statement said.
Bellson's passing was unexpected, the statement said, and came after he was hospitalised last November with a broken hip.
During a glittering career that covered more than six decades, Bellson worked with some of the best known names in jazz on more than 200 albums.
Sammy Davis Jr once said of the drummer: "Louie Bellson - the only man I know who, when he plays by himself, sounds like a symphony orchestra."
Funerals for the drummer will take place in Los Angeles and his hometown of Moline, Illinois, where he will be buried.
