Bill Beason

William Beason
Born(1908-03-06)March 6, 1908
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedAugust 15, 1988(1988-08-15) (aged 80)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupationdrummer

William Beason (March 6, 1908 – August 15, 1988) was an American swing jazz drummer. At the height of his career, he recorded with Django Reinhardt.[1][2]

Biography

Beason was born March 6, 1908, in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended Central High School there, along with classmates and future jazz musicians Helen Humes, Jonah Jones and Dicky Wells,[3] and then Wilberforce University in Ohio, playing drums for Horace Henderson's Collegians while there.[4]

In 1939, Beason took over the role of drummer in Ella Fitzgerald's orchestra from Chick Webb.[5]

Beason died, aged 80, in New York City.[6]

Discography (in selection)

With Dickie Wells and his Orchestra (Richard Fullbright, Bill Beason, Django Reinhardt, Bill Coleman)

  • 1937: Dinah ! / Nobody's Blues But My Own (Swing)
  • 1937: Japanese Sandman / I Got Rhythm (Swing)
  • 1937: I've Found A New Baby / Hot Club Blues (Swing)
  • 1937: Bugle Call Rag / Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (Swing)
  • 1937: Sweet Sue / Hangin' Around Boudon (Swing)
  • 1940: Hangin' Around Boudon / I've Found A New Baby (Victor)

With Ella Fitzgerald and her Orchestra

  • 1974: Live From The Roseland Ballroom, New York 1940 (Sunbeam)
  • 1987: Jazz Live & Rare (Delta)

See also

References

  1. ^ Jean 'Django' Reinhardt: A Contextual Bio-Discography 1910-1953. Taylor & Francis. July 5, 2017. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-351-56173-0.
  2. ^ The New Yorker. New Yorker Magazine, Incorporated. August 2000. p. 100.
  3. ^ "Beason, William E. "Bill"". Notable Kentucky African American (NKAA) Database. University of Kentucky Libraries. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Farrington, Joshua D. (2015). "Beason, William "Bill"". In Smith, Gerald L.; McDaniel, Karen Cotton; Hardin, John A. (eds.). The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8131-6065-8. OCLC 913829084.
  5. ^ Nick Talevski (1999). The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries. Omnibus. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-7119-7548-4.
  6. ^ Chadbourne, Eugene. "Bill Beason". Biography. AllMusic. Retrieved February 26, 2019.


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