This Chicago Tribune has a nice obit.
Louie Bellson didn't just make the drums swing—he made them sing.
Listen closely, and you could hear melody and phrase in the tintinnabulation of fast-flying sticks striking cymbals. All the while, his feet moved like crazy, articulating multiple rhythms on not one but two bass drums—a Bellson signature.
The distinctly lyrical approach of his playing, combined with the hyper-virtuosity of his technique, made Mr. Bellson arguably the last of the iconic swing drummers. His long résumé included important stints in bands led by Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and other deities in the kingdom of swing.
Mr. Bellson, 84, who grew up in the Quad Cities and developed his early career in Chicago, died Saturday, Feb. 14, in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from Parkinson's disease, said his wife, Francine.
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