- Far Cry from Freedom - Single · 2017
- Home - Single · 2016
- Real Life - Single · 2016
- Anything Else but You - Single · 2013
- Die Trying - Single · 2013
- Nothing Else Matters - Single · 2013
- For Another Day - Single · 2013
- Rubisa Patrol · 1976
- Rubisa Patrol · 1976
- Rubisa Patrol · 1976
- Rubisa Patrol · 1976
- Rubisa Patrol · 1976
- Rubisa Patrol · 1976
Essential Albums
- Between late 1953 and his death three years later, pianist Art Tatum released something in the neighborhood of 20 albums with producer Norman Granz, ranging from marathon solo sessions to collaborations with giants like Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich—a feat even if the music hadn’t turned out as well as it did. Consisting primarily of standards (Cole Porter’s “Night and Day”, Rodgers and Hart’s “Have You Met Miss Jones?”), Vol. 8, Tatum’s session with the tenor player Ben Webster, isn’t just a piece of history (this was Tatum’s last trip to the studio). It was an exemplary session unto itself, contrasting the famously ornamental Tatum—a player who once quipped that bands got in his way—with Webster’s mellow, unhurried approach, backed by drummer Bill Douglass and bassist Red Callender. Relaxed as the material is, Tatum remains his restlessly engaging self—just listen to Webster hold the melody on “All the Things You Are” while Tatum dazzles in the margins, a hummingbird dancing around a flower.
Albums
Singles & EPs
Appears On
About Bill Douglass
Jazz drummer Bill Douglass should not be mistaken for the bassist and bamboo flute player of the same name who came along in a somewhat later era. The drummer Douglass was a solid swinger, not a hint of new age, who was a first choice of many top swing stars when a Los Angeles show was in the offing. Douglass worked with the touchy Benny Goodman, the comfy Ben Webster, the clever Benny Carter, and the busy Art Tatum; he was also considered a superb drummer for singers, again working with some of the very best: Kay Starr, June Christy, and Lena Horne, for example. The drummer graduated from the Westlake College of Music and eventually became a teacher himself at the school of percussion known simply as Drum City, all the while pursuing freelance recording jobs in and around Hollywood. While some of the performers previously mentioned did not record with this drummer, the recordings that do exist reveal that Douglass was comfortable making a variety of the hometown musical styles happen. Sides with Tatum and Webster present the hardcore evidence of syncopated chops, but the less well-known music of Harry Babasin in 1957 reveals a much more inventive, not to mention fleet, side of Douglass. The drummer also bares his backbeat on some of the West Coast blues recordings of Amos Milburn. ~ Eugene Chadbourne
- HOMETOWN
- Sherman
- BORN
- 28 February 1923
- GENRE
- Jazz