Vernel Anthony Fournier (July 30, 1928 – November 4, 2000) and, from 1975, known as Amir Rushdan, 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 major ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

probably best known for his work with

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator. For six decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. Biography Early life Jamal was born Fr ...

from 1956 to 1962.

Biography

Fournier was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, into a Creole family. He left college to join a big band led by

King Kolax King Kolax (born William Little, November 6, 1912 – December 18, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Biography William Little was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1912; he misleadingly claimed he was born in 1918 in later ...

. After Kolax downsized to a quintet, Fournier moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1948, where he played with such musicians as

Buster Bennett James Joseph "Buster" Bennett (March 19, 1914 – July 3, 1980) was an American blues saxophonist and blues shouter. His nickname was "Leap Frog". At various times in his career, he played the soprano saxophone, the alto, and the tenor. H ...

Paul Bascomb Paul Bascomb ( – December 2, 1986) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, noted for his extended tenure with Erskine Hawkins. He is a 1979 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Career Bascomb was a founding member of the Bama Sta ...

and

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

. As house drummer at the Bee Hive club on Chicago's South Side in 1953–55, he accompanied many visiting soloists, including

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

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 ...

J.J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biography ...

, Earl Washington and

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

. From 1953 to 1956, Fournier also worked many recording sessions with

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

Red Holloway James Wesley "Red" Holloway (May 31, 1927 – February 25, 2012) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Born in Helena, Arkansas,Daniel E. Slotnik"Red Holloway, Swinger of the Sax, Dies at 84" ''The New York Times'', February 28, 2012 ...

Lefty Bates Lefty Bates (March 9, 1920 – April 7, 2007)Doc Rock (2007) TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Accessed October 13, 2011. was an American Chicago blues guitarist. He led the Lefty Bates Combo and worked with the El Dorados, the Flamingos, Jimmy Reed, Joh ...

, and others. He joined Ahmad Jamal's trio in 1957, along with bass player

Israel Crosby Israel Crosby (January 19, 1919 – August 11, 1962) was an American jazz double-bassist born in Chicago, Illinois, United States. One of the finest to emerge during the 1930s, he was also a member of the Ahmad Jamal trio for most of 1954 ...

, and remained with the group until 1962, appearing on a series of recordings for the

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

label. The best known of these, '' At the Pershing: But Not for Me'' (1958), became one of the best selling jazz records of all time, remaining on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' jazz charts for over two years. After leaving the Jamal trio, Fournier joined

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 t ...

for two years before rejoining Jamal briefly in 1965–66. He then took a long-running gig with a trio at a restaurant owned by

Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an African American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah, who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his de ...

. He converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in 1975, and took the Muslim name of Amir Rushdan.Ben Ratliff
"Vernel Fournier, 72, Jazz Drummer Revered for Precision and Understatement"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 10, 2000. He worked with Nancy Wilson,

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and Joe Williams,

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

and

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

. Fournier was also a teacher of drumming, working at Barry Harris's Jazz Cultural Theater, the

New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, and the

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School ca ...

. A

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 1994 left him unable to use his legs and confined him to a wheelchair. Although he was unable to play drums professionally, after his stroke, he continued his teaching activities. He died from a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, in 2000.

Discography

With

Lorez Alexandria Lorez Alexandria (born Dolorez Alexandria Turner; August 14, 1929 – May 22, 2001). was an American jazz singer, described as "one of the most gifted and underrated jazz singers of the twentieth century". She became established in the midwest b ...

*'' Deep Roots'' (Argo, 1962) With

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

*'' 3 in Jazz'' (RCA, 1963) With

and

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

*'' Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter'' (Verve, 1986) With

*'' At the Pershing: But Not for Me'' (Argo, 1958) *''

Jamal at the Penthouse Jamal at the Penthouse is an album by jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, recorded live at Nola's Penthouse Studio in New York and released by Argo Records in 1959. This album, unlike other Ahmad Jamal albums, features his trio with a 15-piece string sectio ...

'' (Argo, 1959) *'' Happy Moods'' (Argo, 1960) *''

Listen to the Ahmad Jamal Quintet ''Listen to the Ahmad Jamal Quintet'' is an album by American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal featuring performances recorded in 1960 and released on the Argo label.

'' (Argo, 1960) *'' Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra'' (Argo, 1961) *'' All of You'' (Argo, 1961) *'' Ahmad Jamal at the Blackhawk'' (Argo, 1962) *'' Poinciana'' (Argo, 1963) *''

Extensions Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

'' (Argo, 1965) *''

Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...

'' (Cadet, 1965) With

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene A ...

*'' I'll Be Seeing You'' (Muse, 1987) With Sam Jones *'' Down Home'' (Riverside, 1962) With

*''

Repetition Repetition may refer to: * Repetition (rhetorical device), repeating a word within a short space of words *Repetition (bodybuilding), a single cycle of lifting and lowering a weight in strength training *Working title for the 1985 slasher film '' ...

'' (Soul Note, 1984) *''

Dr. Chicago ''Dr. Chicago'' is an album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in 1984 and released on the Bee Hive label.Royal Ballads ''Royal Ballads'' is an album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan's Quartet which was recorded in late 1986 and released on the Dutch Criss Cross Jazz label.Fitzgerald, M.Clifford Jordan leader entry accessed April 11, 2014 Reception In his review on ...

'' (Criss Cross Jazz, 1986) *'' Live at Ethell's'' (Mapleshade, 1987 990 *'' Down Through the Years'' (Milestone, 1991) With

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...

*'' Very PERSONal'' (Muse, 1980) With

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

*" Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby" (Vee-Jay, 1953) *'' I'm Jimmy Reed'' (Vee-Jay, 1955-58

958 Year 958 ( CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantines under John Tzimiskes ...

With

*'' Mood Latino'' (Capitol, 1961) *''

The Swingin's Mutual! ''The Swingin's Mutual!'' is an album by the George Shearing quintet, accompanied on the original 1961 release on six songs by the vocalist Nancy Wilson (singer), Nancy Wilson. Reception The initial ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' review fr ...

'' (Capitol, 1961) - with Nancy Wilson *'' Jazz Concert'' (1963) *'' Rare Form!'' (1966

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

With

Frank Strozier Frank R. Strozier Jr. (born June 13, 1937) is a jazz alto saxophonist. Strozier was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play piano. In 1954, he moved to Chicago, where he performed with Harold Mabern, George Coleman, and Booker Littl ...

*''Cloudy and Cool'' (Vee Jay, 1960) - with Billy Wallace and Bill Lee

Drum method

* ''Vernel Fournier - Drum Techniques: Intermediate - Advanced Exercises and Etudes''

References

External links

Profile at drummerworld.com

Video w/ Ahmad Jamal Trio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fournier, Vernel Converts to Islam Jazz musicians from New Orleans 1928 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American musicians American Muslims American jazz drummers