Charles Bell Jr. (born February 11, 1961,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Pennsylvania), better known by his stage name Poogie Bell, is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drummer, composer, band leader and producer. Bell is best known as a drummer, working extensively with bassist

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sa ...

and as a sideman for other artists such as

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

, Victor Bailey,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Alex Bugnon Alex Bugnon (born October 10, 1958) is a jazz pianist and composer from Montreux, Switzerland. He is a nephew of Donald Byrd. Bugnon studied at the Paris Conservatory and the Mozart Academy in Salzburg. At age nineteen, he moved to the U.S. and ...

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American retired jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, sh ...

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

Angelique Kidjo Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * A ...

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American jazz keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, whose name was shortened to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained a p ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age o ...

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Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

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, and

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

Life and career

Early life

Bell was born in 1961 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Charles Bell, Sr. and Alice Pittrell. His father was a jazz pianist and band leader for the Charles Bell Contemporary Jazz Quartet. As an infant, Bell regularly watched his father's band rehearse. He made his concert debut with his father's band at age two and a half, playing at Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh, and in 1966, he performed with

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer, comedian and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the ti ...

on the

Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went in ...

. Bell moved to New York with his family, where his father took up a music professorship. In New York, Bell continued to be immersed in the world of music. His father regularly rehearsed at home with

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...

, Richard Davis,

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

, and

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

, and the bassist

Paul Chambers Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop er ...

was a neighbor. While growing up in New York, Bell was friends with

Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American drummer, producer, arranger and composer. His session work covers jazz, jazz fusion, and pop music. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Chic, Sting, Madonna, Dire S ...

Weldon Irvine Weldon Jonathan Irvine Jr. (October 27, 1943 – April 9, 2002), also known as Master Wel, was an American composer, playwright, poet, pianist, organist, and keyboardist. Biography Irvine, an African American, was born in Hampton, Virginia, on ...

, Marcus Miller,

Lenny White Leonard White III (born December 19, 1949) is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion". White has won thre ...

, and

Bernard Wright Bernard Wright (November 16, 1963 – May 19, 2022) was an American funk and jazz keyboardist and singer who began his career as a session musician and later released four solo albums. Biography Wright was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York. I ...

, all of whom went on to professional music careers of their own.

Professional career

Bell has an extensive discography as a sideman, producer and arranger. He produced Alex Bugnon, smooth jazz artist Mey, pop and R&B artist Kenji Hino, jazz bassist owner of Yuji Sound Records and promotion company Poogie Bell Presents, LLC.

Grammy Awards

Bell performed on Chaka Khan's 1992 album ''

The Woman I Am The Woman I Am may refer to: Music Albums * The Woman I Am (Chaka Khan album), ''The Woman I Am'' (Chaka Khan album), 1992, or the title track * The Woman I Am (Kellie Pickler album), ''The Woman I Am'' (Kellie Pickler album), 2013, or the title tr ...

'', which won the 1993

Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

and on Marcus Miller's album '' M2'', which won the 2001

Best Contemporary Jazz Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality ...

. He also performed on Angélique Kidjo's 2007 release '' Djin Djin'', which won the

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album was an honor presented to recording artists between 2004 and 2011 for quality contemporary world music albums. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originall ...

in 2008.

Videos

Poogie Bell Interview

Discography

*2004: Poogie Bell Band – ''Thinking Outside The Box'' *2007: Poogie Bell Band – ''Get on the Kit'' *2009: Poogie Bell Band – ''Poogie on Shuffle'' *2010: Poogie Bell Band – ''My America'' *2013: Poogie Bell Band – ''Suga Top''

As a sideman

*1979: Weldon Irvine – ''The Sisters'' *1980: Weldon Irvine – ''Weldon & The Kats'' *1981:

Bobby Broom Robert Broom Jr. (born January 18, 1961) is an American jazz guitarist, composer, and educator. He was born and raised in New York City, then moved to Chicago, which has been his home town since 1984. He performs and records with The Bobby Broom ...

– ''Clean Sweep'' *1991: Marcus Miller – '' Out of the World'' *1992: Chaka Khan – ''The Woman I Am'' *1992:

Najee Jerome Najee Rasheed (born November 4, 1957, New York City), known professionally as Najee, is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. Early life Najee was born in the lower west side of Manhattan in New York City and lived his teenage years ...

– ''Just An Illusion'' *1993:

Kirk Whalum Kirk Whalum (born July 11, 1958) is an American R&B and smooth jazz saxophonist and songwriter. Whalum has recorded a series of commercially and critically acclaimed solo studio albums. Along with several film soundtracks, with music ranging fro ...

– ''Caché'' *1993: Marcus Miller – '' The Sun Don't Lie'' *1995: Marcus Miller – '' Tales'' *1996: Various Artists – ''World Christmas'' *1997: Marcus Miller – '' Live & More'' *1997: Erykah Badu - "Erykah Badu: Live" *1998: Marcus Miller – ''The Best of Marcus Miller'' *1999: Various Artists – ''An American Love Story'' *2001: Marcus Miller – ''

M² M2 or m2 may refer to: * Square metre (m2), an SI measure of area * M squared (M2), a measure of laser beam quality * ''M2'' (album), by Marcus Miller * m2 (artist), German DJ and musician Mathis Mootz See also * M2 (disambiguation) * M (disamb ...

'' (2002

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality ...

) *2002: Marcus Miller – '' The Ozell Tapes – Live 2001'' *2003: Michael 'Patches' Stewart – ''Blow'' *2004:

Dean Brown Dean Craig Brown, AO (born 5 April 1943) is a politician who served as the Premier of South Australia between 14 December 1993 and 28 November 1996, and also served as 10th Deputy Premier of South Australia between 22 October 2001 and 5 ...

– ''Groove Warrior'' *2005: Marcus Miller – ''Master of All Trades'' *2005: Marcus Miller – '' Silver Rain'' *2007: Angelique Kidgo - ''Djin Djin'' (nominated for

) *2008: Marcus Miller – ''

Marcus Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

'' *2008: S.M.V. – ''

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

'' *2010: Marcus Miller – ''A Night in Monte Carlo – Live 2009''

References

External links

*
Sofia Echo interviewPoogie Bell Trio in MarseilleCrush Drum Artist

Poogie Bell video interview at Rockyoumentally
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Poogie American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz drummers American session musicians 1961 births Living people Jazz musicians from New York (state) Drummers from New York City Drummers from Pittsburgh 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians