Hep Records, jazz in depth from the 1930's to the present day.


ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES


Bernard [ Buddy ] Rich (Drums, Vocals, Leader) 1917-1987 Bernard "Buddy" Rich was born into a vaudeville show business family on September 30, 1917. His father gave him a little drum kit and by the age of four was billed as "Traps, The Boy Drum Wonder". The Rich family act toured extensively including an Australian trip in 1924. They survived the depression years by which time Buddy had become an accomplished tap dancer. His full potential as an all-round entertainer as part of the 1936 show "Oh, Say Can You Sing" was commented upon in the Chicago Daily News. There were more theatre tours till at last in New York in October 1937 he joined the Joe Marsala Combo as regular drummer. His reputation soared and a year later he joined Bunny Berigan's band where he met tenor saxman Georgie Auld. The two extrovert jazzmen hit it off and next found themselves in the Artie Shaw Orchestra which was about the top band in the land in 1939. When the Shaw band broke up the drummer was invited to join Tommy Dorsey who promised Rich that his band was about to be remodelled along Jimmy Luceford lines. Rich accepted and for the next two years became a star attraction and also met and fought with Frank Sinatra. In 1943 Rich joined the U.S. Marines till medically discharged in June 1944 whereupon he rejoined Dorsey. The next twelve months were a little tense as Rich made no secret of wishing to form his own band but was bound by contract to remain with the trombonist. At last Dorsey relented and with a loan from his erstwhile sparring partner Frank Sinatra the Buddy Rich Orchestra was formed in December 1945. The new orchestra was a wild extrovert unit with Eddie Finckel, Neal Hefti and Billy Moore Junior arrangements which pleased jazz fans although a general appetite for this was waning in favour of the singers and in December 1946 it broke up. In April of the following year he reformed with a declared policy of being more commercial and with his singing as a feature. The reviews were encouraging and it seemed as if he had the right balance. Unfortunately a situation arose where some players wanted to play hot all the time and the ballroom operators didn't with Rich caught in the middle. By the time they returned to New York in October 1948 the band was in crisis and broke up two months later. The drummer joined the Les Brown band, moved to the J.A.T.P. organization and in the fifties was one of the highest paid sidemen in the business playing first with his old boss Tommy Dorsey then Harry James. It was while he was with James in Las Vegas that the leading bug bit him again and he reformed an exciting new band. In 1966 the rock era was well entrenched but the drummer adapted his technique and could out rock any band in the land and toured throughout the U.S., Japan, and Europe. The exertion of such a schedule eventually brought on heart problems which were successfully treated in 1983. He was soon back on the road leading another great band filled with eager young talents and again undertook punishing overseas tours. Then in late 1986 he was diagnosed as suffering from a brain tumour. He bravely underwent surgery but the strain was too great and three weeks later on April 2, 1987 his heart gave out. His funeral service in Hollywood brought out a huge gathering of showbusiness greats including Sinatra, Mel Torme, Sammy Davis Jnr, Jerry Lewis, Mel Brooks, his old boss Artie Shaw and many others. Rich is by general consent the most phenomenally gifted percussionist that ever lived whose ability to span the stylistic changes from the 1920s to the 1980s are beyond belief. Available now on Hep: CD 12 Buddy Rich And His Legendary '47/48 Orchestra (Vol. 1) 1947-48 CD 56 Buddy Rich And His Legendary '47/48 Orchestra (Vol. 2) 1947-48 Discography: 1946 One Night Stand (Bandstand) recording from 1946 1951 The Lester Young Trio (Mercury) 10-inch album (with Nat King Cole and Lester young) 1953 The Lester Young Trio II (Clef) 1954 Buddy Rich Swinging (Norgran) 1955 Sing And Swing With Buddy Rich (Norgran) 1955 Buddy And Sweets (Norgran) with Harry 'Sweets' Edison 1956 The Hampton-Tatum-Rich Trio (Clef) with Lionel Hampton and Art Tatum 1956 Buddy Rich Sings Johnny Mercer (Verve) 1956 The Wailing Buddy Rich (Norgran) 1956 This One's For Basie (Norgran) reissued as Big Band Shout 1957 Buddy Just Sings (Verve) 1957 The Buddy Rich Quartet In Miami (Verve) 1959 Rich Versus Roach (Mercury) 1959 Richcraft (Mercury) 1959 The Voice Is Rich (Mercury) 1961 Playtime (Argo) 1962 Blues Caravan (Verve) 1962 Burnin' Beat (Verve) with Gene Krupa 1966 Swingin' New Big Band (Pacific Jazz) 1967 Big Swing Face (Pacific Jazz) 1967 The New One! (Pacific Jazz) 1968 Mercy, Mercy (World Pacific) 1969 Buddy & Soul (World Pacific) 1969 Rich A La Rakha (World Pacific) 1969 Super Rich (Verve) 1970 Keep The Customer Satisfied (Liberty) 1971 A Different Drummer (RCA) 1971 Buddy Rich-Louie Bellson-Kenny Clare & The Bobby Lamb-Ray Premru Orchestra (RCA) 1971 Rich In London (RCA) 1971 Time Being (RCA) 1972 Stick It (RCA) 1973 The Roar Of '74 (Groove) 1973 Buddy Rich And His Orchestra (Laserlight) 1974 Ease On Down The Road (LRC) 1974 The Last Blues Album Vol.1 (Groove) 1976 Speak No Evil (RCA) 1977 Buddy Rich Plays And Plays (RCA) 1977 Class Of '78 (RCA) 1978 Lionel Hampton Presents Buddy Rich (Giants Of Jazz) 1980 Rich And Famous (Meteor Magnum) 1982 Buddy Rich And His Legendary 47-48 Orchestra Vol.1 (Hep) 1982 Buddy Rich And His Legendary 47-48 Orchestra Vol.2 (Hep) 1984 Tuff Dude (LRC) 1985 Live At King Street Cafe (Pacific Jazz) 1985 The Cinch (Spotlite) Compilations: 1977 Buddy Rich And His Greatest Band (First Heard) recordings from 1946-1947 1979 Rich Riot (First Heard) 1992 No Jive (Novus) 1998 The Collection (Beat Goes On) Top
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Three labels covering jazz in depth from 1930 to the present.

Hep Jazz, P.O. Box 50, Pitlochry, UK. PH16 5YL