Adolph Stanley Levey known professionally as Stan Levey (April 5, 1926 – April 19, 2005) was an American

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 m ...

drummer. He was known for working with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

and Dizzy Gillespie in the early development of

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

during the 1940s, and in the next decade had stint with bandleader

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

. Levey retired from music in the 1970s to work as a photographer.

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States, Levey is considered one of the earliest

drummers, and one of the very few white drummers involved in the formative years of bebop. He played in Philadelphia with Dizzy Gillespie's group in 1942, at the age of 16. Soon after, he went to New York City, where he and Gillespie worked on

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

with

and

Oscar Pettiford Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom. Biography Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, United ...

. After his tenure with the

Orchestra he moved to the West Coast in 1954, joining

Howard Rumsey Howard Rumsey (November 7, 1917 – July 15, 2015) was an American jazz double-bassist known for his leadership of the Lighthouse All-Stars in the 1950s. Biography Born in Brawley, California, United States, Rumsey first began playing the piano ...

, Don Joham and the Lighthouse All-Stars, and was a major influence in

West Coast jazz West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a subgenre of cool jazz, which consisted of a calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music relied rela ...

. Though "cool" jazz was common on the West Coast, Levey's crisp, melodic style continued to have more in common with bop than cool, and he inspired every group he ever played in. A right-handed person, Levey played the drums, as if left-handed. Levey has played on thousands of recordings, including those with musicians Dizzy Gillespie,

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, Stan Getz,

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 ...

, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra,

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

, and with bands such as that of

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, and

Skitch Henderson Lyle Russel "Skitch" Henderson (January 27, 1918 – November 1, 2005) was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname "Skitch" came from his ability to "re-sketch" a song in a different key. Bing Crosby suggested that he should use the ...

and

The Tonight Show Band The Tonight Show Band is the house band that plays on the American television variety show '' The Tonight Show''. From 1962 until 1992, when the show was known as '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', the band was a 17-piece big band, and ...

. Levey retired from the music business in 1973 to become a professional

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

. He died at age 79, two months after surgery for cancer of the jaw, in Van Nuys, California. He was buried at the

Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Histor ...

in Los Angeles.

Discography

With Chet Baker and Art Pepper *''The Route'' (Pacific Jazz, 1956) With

Buddy Bregman Louis Isidore "Buddy" Bregman (July 9, 1930 – January 8, 2017) was an American arranger and conductor. Biography Bregman was born in Chicago. His father was an executive in the steel industry. His uncle was songwriter Jule Styne. He spen ...

*''

Swinging Kicks ''Swinging Kicks'' is a 1957 album by the jazz arranger Buddy Bregman. The album was released as ''I Love Listening to Buddy Bregman'' by HMV in the United Kingdom. Reception Scott Yanow reviewed the album for AllMusic and wrote that it was "B ...

'' (Verve, 1957) With

Conte Candoli Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927 – December 14, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orc ...

*'' Conte Candoli Quartet'' (Mode, 1957) *''

Little Band Big Jazz ''Little Band Big Jazz'' is an album by trumpeter Conte Candoli's All Stars recorded in 1960 and released on Crown Records.Callahan, M., Edwards, D., Eyries, P. and Neely, TCrown Album Discography, Part 2: CLP-5101/CST-133 to CLP-5199/CST-219 (19 ...

'' (Crown, 1960) With

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

*'' Vic Feldman on Vibes'' (Mode, 1957) *'' The Arrival of Victor Feldman'' (Contemporary, 1958) *''

Latinsville! ''Latinsville!'' is an album by vibraphonist and pianist Victor Feldman recorded in 1959 and released on the Contemporary label.

'' (Contemporary, 1960) With Stan Getz *'' Stan Getz Quartets'' (Prestige, 1949-50

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...

*''

The Steamer ''The Steamer'' is an album by saxophonist Stan Getz, recorded in 1956 and first released on the Verve label.Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz ''Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz'' (also released as ''Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi'') is an album by American jazz saxophonists Gerry Mulligan and Stan Getz featuring performances recorded in 1957 released on the Verve label.Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

With Dizzy Gillespie *'' For Musicians Only'' (Verve, 1956) With

Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...

*'' The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet'' (Atlantic, 1956) * ''

Herb Ellis Meets Jimmy Giuffre ''Herb Ellis Meets Jimmy Giuffre'' is an album by American jazz guitarist Herb Ellis and saxophonist, composer and arranger Jimmy Giuffre which was released on the Verve label in 1959.Herb Ellis With

*''

Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton ''Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton'' is a compilation album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton featuring performances recorded between 1951 and 1953 and originally released as a 10-inch LP and 45 rpm EP on Capitol before being reissued as a 12 ...

'' (Capitol, 1953) *''

New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm ''New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm'' is an album by Stan Kenton. "Invention for Guitar and Trumpet" features guitarist Sal Salvador. A ''New York Times'' writer commented in 2003 that composer Bill Russo's "Improvisation" piece was "among the h ...

'' (Capitol, 1953) *''

Sketches on Standards ''Sketches on Standards'' (subtitled ''Request selections from the Kenton Dance Library'') is an album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton featuring performances of jazz standards recorded in 1953 and originally released on the Capitol label as ...

'' (Capitol, 1953) *''

This Modern World ''This Modern World'' is a weekly satirical comic strip by cartoonist and political commentator Tom Tomorrow (real name Dan Perkins) that covers current events from a left-wing point of view. Published continuously for more than 30 years, ''Th ...

'' (Capitol, 1953) *''

Portraits on Standards ''Portraits on Standards'' is an album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton with featuring performances of jazz standards recorded in 1953 and originally released on the Capitol label as a 10-inch LP.Vosbein, PStan Kenton Discographyaccessed Apr ...

'' (Capitol, 1953) *''

Kenton Showcase ''Kenton Showcase'' refers to two 10-inch LPs by bandleader Stan Kenton recorded in early 1954 on Capitol, one each featuring compositions by Bill Holman and Bill Russo. These albums were combined as a 12-inch LP in 1955.Vosbein, PStan Kenton Dis ...

'' (Capitol, 1954) ;With Lee Konitz *'' Lee Konitz Plays'' (Disques Vogue, 1953) With

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...

*'' Soft Sands'' (Universal/Polygram, 1957) With

Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

*''

Music for Prancing ''Music for Prancing'' is an album by saxophonist Warne Marsh recorded in 1957 and originally released on the Mode label.Red Mitchell *''West Coast Rhythm'' (Affinity, recorded 1954–1955, released 1982) With

Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arrang ...

*'' Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers'' (RCA Victor, 1957) *''

Portrait of Shorty ''Portrait of Shorty'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter composer and arranger Shorty Rogers which was released on the RCA Victor label in 1958. Reception Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars. On All About Jazz Jack Bowers stated "there’s p ...

'' (RCA Victor, 1957) With Sonny Stitt *'' Previously Unreleased Recordings'' (Verve, 1960

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

References

External links

Stan Levey, Web Site "Drummerworld"Stan Levey, "The Last Post"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levey, Stan American jazz drummers Jewish American jazz composers 20th-century American photographers West Coast jazz drummers Jewish American musicians 1926 births 2005 deaths Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Jewish jazz musicians 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American composers American male jazz composers American jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews