Bill Beason

American jazz musician

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

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

Life

In 1939, Beason took over the role of drummer in Ella Fitzgerald's orchestra from Chick Webb.^[3] He died, aged 80, in New York City.^[4]^[5]

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)

References

^ Jean 'Django' Reinhardt: A Contextual Bio-Discography 1910-1953. Taylor & Francis. July 5, 2017. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-351-56173-0.
^ The New Yorker. New Yorker Magazine, Incorporated. August 2000. p. 100.
^ Nick Talevski (1999). The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries. Omnibus. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-7119-7548-4.
^ Chadbourne, Eugene. "Bill Beason". Biography. AllMusic. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
^ "Bill Beason". Discography. Discogs.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.