Bill Douglass

William Bill Douglass was an American jazz drummer born in Sherman, Texas. Douglass relocated to Los Angeles when he was six months old, becoming in his adulthood a popular LA musician who worked shows and sessions with some of swings top performers. Douglass provided drums for notable instrumentalists like Benny Goodman and Ben Webster, as well as providing backing for vocalists such as Lena Horne and June Christy. Douglass was also known for his work in the American Federation of Musicians, where he was an active proponent of desegregation. He held offices in local unions both before and after their racial integration.

Six months after Douglass was born in Sherman, Texas, his extended family relocated to Los Angeles in an effort to escape Jim Crow laws. A member of a musical family, Douglass took an early interest in music. He cited as a pivotal moment in his life when he first heard Benny Goodmans drummer Gene Krupa performing Sing, Sing, Sing on the radio, when he realized, Thats what I had to do. Thats all there was to it. Douglass met and befriended Dexter Gordon while attending McKinley Junior High School in Los Angeles, at which point he first began playing drums. At Jefferson High School, both Douglass and Gordon began taking band under teacher Lloyd Reese, who encouraged the rudiments and private instruction. Though a drummer, Douglass took private keyboard instructions, which he credited with helping him to understand how the various instruments in an ensemble relate. Douglass never took private drum lessons, but eventually made the acquaintance of Cab Calloway drummer Cozy Cole, who used to

Source: Wikipedia