Richard MacQueen "Dick" Wellstood (born November 25, 1927, Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...

 — died July 24, 1987, Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

) was an American jazz

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...

 pianist. He was, along with Ralph Sutton

Ralph Sutton

Ralph Earl Sutton was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller....

, one of the few stride pianists

Stride piano

Harlem Stride Piano, Stride Piano, or just Stride, is a jazz piano style that was developed in the large cities of the East Coast, mainly in the New York, during 1920s and 1930s. The left hand may play a four-beat pulse with a single bass note, octave, seventh or tenth interval on the first and...

 to arise in the 1940s during the rise of bebop

Bebop

Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...

.

Wellstood played with Bob Wilber

Bob Wilber

Bob Wilber is an internationally recognized American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and band leader living in Chipping Campden, England. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber has been a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his career to present traditional jazz...

's Wildcats in 1946, and became a mainstay on the trad jazz

Trad jazz

Trad jazz - short for "traditional jazz" - refers to the Dixieland and Ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century in contrast to any more modern style....

 scene, playing with 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...

 in 1947 and in the 1950s with Jimmy Archey

Jimmy Archey

Jimmy Archey was an American jazz trombonist born in Norfolk, Virginia, perhaps most noteworthy for his work in several prominent jazz orchestras and big bands of his time . He performed and recorded with the James P...

, Conrad Janis

Conrad Janis

Conrad Janis is an American jazz musician and also a theatre, film, and television actor. In the fall of 1953, he played eldest son Edward in the Ezio Pinza situation comedy Bonino on NBC...

, 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...

, Rex Stewart

Rex Stewart

Rex Stewart was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra....

, Charlie Shavers

Charlie Shavers

Charles James Shavers , known as Charlie Shavers, was an American swing era jazz trumpet player who played at one time or another with Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmy Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams and Billie Holiday...

, and 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....

.
He was the house pianist at New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 clubs Metropole and Nick's in the late 1950s and 1960s. He played with Gene Krupa

Gene Krupa

Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...

 in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 in 1965 and later joined the World's Greatest Jazz Band

World's Greatest Jazz Band

The World's Greatest Jazz Band was an all-star jazz ensemble active from 1968 to 1978.Dick Gibson founded the group at his sixth Jazz Party, an annual event. The group performed mostly Dixieland jazz and recorded extensively. It was co-led by Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart, and did early jazz...

. He played locally in the 1970s and studied law, briefly going into practice in the 1980s. In the 1980s he also played often with Kenny Davern

Kenny Davern

Kenny Davern , born John Kenneth Davern, was one of the premier jazz clarinetists of his generation.-Biography:He was born in Huntington, Long Island to a family of mixed Jewish and Irish-Catholic ancestry...

.

In 1977 completed a tour of the UK with the Dutch Swing College Band

Dutch Swing College Band

The Dutch Swing College Band "DSCB" is a traditional dixieland band founded on May 5, 1945 by bandleader and clarinetist/saxophonist Peter Schilperoort....

.

From 1980-86, he was the house pianist at Hanratty's restaurant at 92nd and 2nd in Manhattan for 6-8 months a year. He died of a heart attack in 1987, aged 59.