Buzzy Drootin
Encyclopedia
Benjamin "Buzzy" Drootin (April 22, 1920 – May 21, 2000) was a legendary jazz
drummer
. He played with some of the greatest leading jazz musicians for over sixty years.
Drootin was born in Kiev
, Ukraine
and moved to Boston, Massachusetts with his family when he was five. His family was musical going back many generations. His father played the clarinet and two of his brothers were also musicians.
He began playing the drums professionally as a teenager. When he was twenty he was touring with the Jess Stacy All-Stars featuring Lee Wiley. After the war he worked as the house drummer at Eddie Condon's in New York
from 1947 until 1951.
In the 1950s and 1960s he worked in clubs in New York, Chicago and Boston. He did a stint as bandleader at New York's El Morocco
Club. In those years he played with musicians such as Bobby Hackett, Jimmy McPartland
, Doc Cheatham, Vic Dickenson
, Pee Wee Russell
, and Wingy Manone
. He also recorded with Tommy Dorsey
, Bobby Hackett
, Jack Teagarden
, Eddie Condon
, Ruby Braff
, Anita O'Day
, George Wein
, The Newport All-Stars, Lee Konitz
, Sidney Bechet
and The Dukes of Dixieland. In 1968/69 he toured and recorded with Wild Bill Davison's Jazz Giants and then formed "Buzzy's Jazz Family" borrowing some of Wild Bill's sidemen (Herb Hall
, Benny Morton
) and adding Herman Autrey
on trumpet and his nephew Sonny Drootin on piano.
In 1973, after touring Europe
and America, he returned to his hometown of Boston where he and his brother Al (sax and clarinet), and nephew Sonny formed the Drootin Brothers Band. They played at the Newport Jazz Festival
. Buzzy played at the very first Newport festival and at many of the festivals after that. He also played at the Los Angeles Classic Jazz Festival in the 1980s.
Drootin backed up many musicians over the years including Wild Bill Davison
, Maxine Sullivan
, Teddi King
, Roy Eldridge
, Joe Venuti, and Zoot Sims
. He appears as a sideman on numerous recordings.
He died, from cancer, at the age of eighty at the Actors Fund Retirement and Nursing Home in Englewood, New Jersey
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
. He played with some of the greatest leading jazz musicians for over sixty years.
Drootin was born in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and moved to Boston, Massachusetts with his family when he was five. His family was musical going back many generations. His father played the clarinet and two of his brothers were also musicians.
He began playing the drums professionally as a teenager. When he was twenty he was touring with the Jess Stacy All-Stars featuring Lee Wiley. After the war he worked as the house drummer at Eddie Condon's in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from 1947 until 1951.
In the 1950s and 1960s he worked in clubs in New York, Chicago and Boston. He did a stint as bandleader at New York's El Morocco
El Morocco
El Morocco was a 20th century Manhattan nightclub frequented by the rich and famous in the 1930s and 1950s. It was famous for its blue zebra-stripe motif and its official photographer, Jerome Zerbe.-History:In 1931, John Perona , an Italian...
Club. In those years he played with musicians such as Bobby Hackett, Jimmy McPartland
Jimmy McPartland
James Dugald McPartland , better known as Jimmy McPartland, was an American cornetist and one of the originators of Chicago Jazz...
, Doc Cheatham, Vic Dickenson
Vic Dickenson
Vic Dickenson was an African-American jazz trombonist. Dickenson's career started out in the 1920s and led him through musical partnerships with such legends as Count Basie , Sidney Bechet and Earl Hines...
, Pee Wee Russell
Pee Wee Russell
Charles Ellsworth Russell, much better known by his nickname Pee Wee Russell, was a jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but eventually focused solely on clarinet....
, and Wingy Manone
Wingy Manone
Wingy Manone was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, singer, and bandleader. His major recordings included "Tar Paper Stomp", "Nickel in the Slot", "Downright Disgusted Blues", "There'll Come a Time ", and "Tailgate Ramble".- Biography :Manone was born Joseph Matthews Mannone in New Orleans,...
. He also recorded with Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
, Bobby Hackett
Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo "Bobby" Hackett was an US jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late thirties and early forties.-Biography:...
, Jack Teagarden
Jack Teagarden
Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden , known as "Big T" and "The Swingin' Gate", was an influential jazz trombonist, bandleader, composer, and vocalist, regarded as the "Father of Jazz Trombone".-Early life:...
, Eddie Condon
Eddie Condon
Albert Edwin Condon , better known as Eddie Condon, was a jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in the so-called "Chicago school" of early Dixieland, he also played piano and sang on occasion....
, Ruby Braff
Ruby Braff
Reuben "Ruby" Braff was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Gary Moore TV show and described Ruby as "The Ivy League Louis Armstrong."Braff was born in Boston...
, Anita O'Day
Anita O'Day
Anita O'Day was an American jazz singer.Born Anita Belle Colton, O'Day was admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer"...
, George Wein
George Wein
George Wein is an American jazz promoter and producer who has been called "the most famous jazz impresario" and "the most important non-player... in jazz history"...
, The Newport All-Stars, Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...
and The Dukes of Dixieland. In 1968/69 he toured and recorded with Wild Bill Davison's Jazz Giants and then formed "Buzzy's Jazz Family" borrowing some of Wild Bill's sidemen (Herb Hall
Herb Hall
Herbert "Herb" Hall was an American jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist.Herb was the brother of Edmond Hall and the son of clarinetist Edward Hall. He began on banjo with the Niles Jazz Band , then settled on reeds. In 1926 he played with Kid Augustin Victor in Baton Rouge, and moved to New...
, Benny Morton
Benny Morton
Benny Morton , born in New York City, was a jazz trombonist most associated with the swing genre. He was praised by fellow trombonist Bill Watrous among others. One of his first jobs was working with Clarence Holiday, and he appeared with Clarence's daughter Billie Holiday towards the end of her...
) and adding Herman Autrey
Herman Autrey
Herman Autrey was an American jazz trumpeter.Autrey was born into a musical family, and began on alto horn before taking up trumpet as a teenager and gigging locally in Pittsburgh and Florida. After some time in Florida he worked in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City, where he...
on trumpet and his nephew Sonny Drootin on piano.
In 1973, after touring Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and America, he returned to his hometown of Boston where he and his brother Al (sax and clarinet), and nephew Sonny formed the Drootin Brothers Band. They played at the Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...
. Buzzy played at the very first Newport festival and at many of the festivals after that. He also played at the Los Angeles Classic Jazz Festival in the 1980s.
Drootin backed up many musicians over the years including Wild Bill Davison
Wild Bill Davison
Wild' Bill Davison was a fiery jazz cornet player who emerged in the 1920s, but did not achieve recognition until the 1940s...
, Maxine Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan , born Marietta Williams, was an American blues and jazz singer.She was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and married jazz musician John Kirby in 1938 , and stride pianist Cliff Jackson in 1956...
, Teddi King
Teddi King
Teddi King was an American jazz and pop vocalist. Born Theodora King in Boston, Massachusetts on September 18, 1929, she won a singing competition hosted by Dinah Shore at Boston's Tributary Theatre, later beginning work in a touring revue involved with "cheering up the military in the lull...
, Roy Eldridge
Roy Eldridge
Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
, Joe Venuti, and Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...
. He appears as a sideman on numerous recordings.
He died, from cancer, at the age of eighty at the Actors Fund Retirement and Nursing Home in Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
.