Bill Dowdy (August 15, 1932 – May 12, 2017) was an American jazz musician and teacher. He was the drummer with the jazz trio,
The Three Sounds. The Three Sounds recorded over ten jazz albums from the 1950s through the early 1970s and played with
Lester Young,
Lou Donaldson,
Nat Adderley,
Johnny Griffin,
Anita O'Day and
Sonny Stitt
Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...
among others.
Biography
Bill Dowdy was born in Osceola, Arkansas. He moved with his family to
Benton Harbor, Michigan when he was six months old. At a young age he would beat on things as if he were playing the drums, an indication of his future musical career. In high school he learned to play the piano and the drums. He had a group called Club 49 Trio in 1949 which group played on the radio in Chicago.
After Dowdy started his own music group, he moved to
Battle Creek and joined a band before being drafted by the Army. Afterwards he moved to Chicago and took private lessons to improve his musical skills. Over time Dowdy became a professional drummer, eventually playing with many blues bands. Dowdy continued traveling, from New York to Los Angeles, and from Canada to the south. His idols included
Gene Krupa,
Max Roach,
Roy Haynes, and
Tony Williams.
Dowdy died on May 12, 2017.
Discography
With
The Three Sounds
*1958: ''
Introducing the 3 Sounds'' (Blue Note)
*1958: ''
Branching Out
''Branching Out'' is an album by jazz cornetist Nat Adderley released on the Riverside label featuring performances by Adderley with Johnny Griffin, and The Three Sounds. '' (Blue Note) with
Nat Adderley
*1959: ''
Bottoms Up!'' (Blue Note)
*1959: ''
LD + 3'' (Blue Note) with
Lou Donaldson
*1959: ''
Good Deal'' (Blue Note)
*1960: ''
Moods'' (Blue Note)
*1960: ''
Feelin' Good'' (Blue Note)
*1960: ''
Here We Come'' (Blue Note)
*1960: ''
It Just Got to Be
''It Just Got to Be'' is an album by the jazz group The Three Sounds with performances recorded in 1960. It was released on the Blue Note label in 1963. '' (Blue Note)
*1960: ''
Blue Hour'' (Blue Note) with
Stanley Turrentine
*1961: ''
Hey There'' (Blue Note)
*1961: ''
Babe's Blues
''Babe's Blues'' is an album by jazz group The Three Sounds featuring performances recorded in 1961 with one additional track from 1962 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1986. '' (Blue Note)
*1962: ''
Out of This World'' (Blue Note)
*1962: ''
Black Orchid'' (Blue Note)
*1959/62: ''
Standards Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
'' released 1998
*1962: ''
Blue Genes'' (Verve)
*1963: ''
Anita O'Day & the Three Sounds
''Anita O'Day & the Three Sounds'' is an album by vocalist Anita O'Day and The Three Sounds recorded for the Verve label in late 1962.The Three Sounds Play Jazz on Broadway
''The Three Sounds Play Jazz on Broadway'' is an album by The Three Sounds performing jazz versions of Broadway show tunes from ''No Strings'', ''Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'', ''Camelot'', ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Tryi ...
'' (Mercury)
*1963: ''
Some Like It Modern
''Some Like It Modern'' is an album by The Three Sounds which was recorded in New York in 1963 and released on the Mercury label. '' (Mercury)
*1964: ''
Live at the Living Room
''Live at the Living Room'' is a live album by The Three Sounds which was recorded in Cincinnati in 1964 and released on the Mercury label.Three Moods
''Three Moods'' is an album by The Three Sounds which was recorded in Los Angeles in 1965 and released on the Limelight label. '' (Limelight)
*1965: ''
Beautiful Friendship'' (Limelight)
References
Notes
* ''The Encyclopedia of Jazz''. Leonard G. Feather. 1984. P. 185.
* ''The Giants of Jazz Piano''. Backbeat Books. 2001. P. 184–186. "(History of the Three Sounds)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdy, Bill
1932 births
2017 deaths
African-American drummers
American jazz drummers
Jazz musicians from Arkansas
The Three Sounds members
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
People from Osceola, Arkansas