George Edward "Butch" Ballard (December 26, 1918 – October 1, 2011) was an American jazz drummer who played with Louis Armstrong,

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, and Duke Ellington.

Biography

Ballard was born in Camden, New Jersey and grew up in the Frankford section of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. As a child, he followed American Legion parades near his home, focusing particularly on the drummer. When he was about 10 years old, Ballard's father bought him a set of drums from a pawnbroker and he began to take lessons for 75 cents each. He got the nickname "Butch" after Machine Gun Butch, a character in the film '' The Big House'' (1930). He attended Northeast High School in Philadelphia. When he was 21, he married Jessie, for whom he bought a house in Philadelphia in 1950.

Career

At around 16 years old, Ballard listened to Herb Thornton's band at the Boys Club in Philadelphia. They let him play with them, and he was invited to join a band by a man who heard him. For the following few months, he carried his drums across Philadelphia to rehearse. In 1938, Ballard began playing with Louis Armstrong's band The Dukes. He performed with them for a few years. In 1941, he began playing with the Cootie Williams Orchestra, performing with

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, Sarah Vaughan,

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

and Pearl Bailey. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Ballard joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and served in the 29th Special Construction Battalion in

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

and the South Pacific. While serving, he played in the military band. After the war, he returned to Philadelphia and then went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, working with musicians including

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

Eddie Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...

, Arnett Cobb and Clark Terry. He met and became friends with drummer Shadow Wilson who played with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

. In the late 1940s, Wilson left Basie's orchestra to join

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

's band and Basie invited Ballard to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

replace him. In 1950, Ballard received a telephone call from Duke Ellington who had heard of Ballard from his son

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

. Ellington invited him to join his band on a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an tour and Ballard sailed to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Regular Ellington drummer Sonny Greer was proving to be increasingly unreliable due to his drinking, and Ellington hired Ballard as a backup. He played with musicians including Harry Carney, Paul Gonsalves,

Jimmy Hamilton Jimmy Hamilton (May 25, 1917 – September 20, 1994) was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, who was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Biography Hamilton was born in Dillon, South Carolina, United States, and grew up in ...

, Billy Strayhorn,

Kay Davis Kathryn Elizabeth Wimp known professionally as Kay Davis (December 5, 1920 – January 27, 2012 in Apopka, Florida) was an American jazz singer who performed with the Duke Ellington orchestra. Davis was born in Evanston, Illinois, and attended ...

and Chubby Kemp and Wendell Marshall. After the tour, Ellington asked him to permanently replace Greer, but Ballard declined, not wanting to change his drumming method to suit Ellington. Ellington, wanting a drummer who used double bass drums, hired Louie Bellson instead. Ballard continued to play with Ellington in 1952–1953 and made recordings with him, such as "

Satin Doll "Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, 101 Strings, Terry Callier, and Nancy Wilson. Its chord progressio ...

." In the 1960s, Ballard began leading his own band in Philadelphia. Ballard played with many musicians during his career, including

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

Freddie Green Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years. Early life and education Green was born in Charleston, South Car ...

Harry "Sweets" Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard bac ...

, Clark Terry, Emmett "Rev" Berry, Bardu Ali,

Willie Cook Willie Cook (November 11, 1923 – September 22, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. Cook was born in Tangipahoa, Louisiana, on November 11, 1923.Hogan, E"Willie Cook" AllMusic. Retrieved July 13, 2017. He grew up in Chicago and learned to p ...

, Cat Anderson, Arnett Cobb,

Lucky Millinder Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...

Bootsie Barnes Robert "Bootsie" Barnes (November 27, 1937 – April 22, 2020) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist from Philadelphia. Early life and education Barnes was raised in a housing project in North Philadelphia. His father was a trumpet player who ...

, Bob Dorsey, Eddy Vincent and

Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Ellin ...

. Ballard became a music teacher in the mid-1980s and saw about 12 students a week. In his later years, he also played with the Philadelphia Legends of Jazz Orchestra.

Awards and honors

On December 1, 2006, Ballard received the Mellon Jazz Community Award for his musical career and his continued education of young jazz musicians.

Discography

As sideman

, ''

Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman ''Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman'' (also released as ''Countin' on Basie'') is an album by saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis' Trio with Count Basie and Joe Newman recorded in late 1957 and originally released on the Roulette ...

'' (Roulette, 1958) * Duke Ellington, ''Ellington '55'' (Capitol, 1954) * Duke Ellington, ''Ellington Showcase'' (Capitol, 1955) *

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

, ''A Memory of Johnny Hodges'' (Master Jazz, 1970) * Johnny Hodges, ''Ellingtonia!'' (Onyx, 1974) * Lee Lovett, ''Lee + 3'' (Wynne, 1959) * Lee Lovett, ''Misty'' (Strand, 1962) * Clark Terry, '' Squeeze Me!'' (Chiaroscuro, 1989)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Butch 1918 births 2011 deaths American jazz drummers United States Navy personnel of World War II Duke Ellington Orchestra members Musicians from Camden, New Jersey Musicians from Philadelphia United States Navy sailors Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Educators from Pennsylvania Educators from New Jersey 20th-century American drummers