David Bee, also known as Ernest Craps, Ernie Sparks, and Manuel Travo (October 17, 1903,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

- 1992) was a Belgian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician, arranger, and composer. Bee was a multi-instrumentalist, adept on clarinet, harp, piano, and alto and tenor saxophone. He played with the group Bistrouille ADO during 1924-1925 before co-founding an ensemble with Peter Packay called Red Beans, a group which toured widely throughout western Europe. After returning to Belgium, he joined

Robert De Kers Robert De Keersmaeker, better known as Robert De Kers (August 10, 1906, Antwerp - January 16, 1987, Brussels) was a Belgian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Kers learned to play piano as a child, and began playing jazz with local musicians while in h ...

's band, and also played in Paris with musicians such as Benny Carter and

Willie Lewis William T. Lewis ''(né'' Willie Meria Tawlton Lewis; 10 June 1905 – 13 January 1971) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Career Lewis was born Cleburne, Texas, United States. He grew up in Dallas and played in variety shows as ...

. He recorded with

Gus Deloof Auguste "Gus" Deloof (September 26, 1909 in Brussels – May 8, 1974 in Brussels) was a Belgian jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger.. Deloof began playing professionally in 1926 and was a member of the group The Michigans in 1927. He worked in ...

in 1940-1941 and played with Robert Bosmans and

Chas Dolne Chas is a Municipal Corporation in the Chas subdivision of the Bokaro district in the state of Jharkhand, India. It is often referred to as a suburb of Bokaro Steel City, though it predates the steel plant. Chas is one of the fastest-growing ur ...

later in the decade. He continued recording into the late 1950s. As a composer, Bee was known for the tunes "High Tension" (recorded by

Luis Russell Luis Russell (August 5, 1902 – December 11, 1963) was a pioneering Panamanian jazz pianist, orchestra leader, composer, and arranger. Career Luis Carl Russell was born on Careening Cay, near Bocas del Toro, Panama, in a family of African-Car ...

) and "Obsession" (recorded by

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

and Reg Owen).

References

*Robert Pernet, "David Bee". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bee, David Musicians from Brussels 1903 births 1992 deaths Belgian jazz bandleaders Belgian composers Male composers 20th-century Belgian male musicians