Robert Stanley "Bobby" Donaldson (November 29, 1922,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

– 1971) was 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 ...

and R&B drummer. After playing locally in the early 1940s, Donaldson played with

Russell Procope Russell Keith Procope (August 11, 1908 – January 21, 1981) was an American clarinetist and alto saxophonist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Before Ellington Procope was born in New York City, United States, and grew up in ...

while serving in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1946–47 Donaldson worked with

Cat Anderson William Alonzo "Cat" Anderson (September 12, 1916 – April 29, 1981) was an American jazz trumpeter known for his long period as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra and for his wide range, especially his ability to play in the altissimo regis ...

, and following this played with

Edmond Hall Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 cha ...

, Andy Kirk,

Lucky Millinder Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing music, swing and rhythm and blues, rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang ...

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

Red Norvo Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His recor ...

, and

Sy Oliver Melvin James "Sy" Oliver (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1988) was an American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader. Life Sy Oliver was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. His mother was a piano teacher, and his f ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. He was a prolific

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

for much of the 1950s and 1960s, playing with

Helen Merrill Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1929) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording ''Helen Merrill (album), Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown on EmArcy), was an immediate success and associat ...

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Bra ...

, Mel Powell,

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, Bobby Jaspar,

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

, André Hodeir,

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

, Lonnie Johnson,

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band duri ...

, Willis Jackson, and

Johnny Hodges Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...

. Early in his career he played with the

Boston Symphony The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO perfor ...

Discography

As leader

*''Dixieland New York'' (World Wide, 1958) *''Dixieland Jazz Party'' (Savoy, 1959) *''Jazz Unlimited'' (Jazz Unlimited 1961)

As sideman

* Mildred Anderson, '' No More in Life'' (Prestige Bluesville, 1961) *

, ''A Night at Count Basie's'' (Vanguard, 1955) *

, ''Hustlin' and Bustlin'' (Storyville, 1956) *

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called ...

, ''If You Need Me'' (Atlantic, 1963) *

& Bill Jennings & Tiny Grimes, ''Guitar Soul'' (Status, 1965) *

Ray Bryant Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...

, '' Groove House'' (Sue, 1963) * Charlie Byrd, ''Jazz Recital'' (Savoy, 1957) *

, ''Just a Groove'' (Vanguard, 1973) *

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

, '' Twistin' the Night Away'' (RCA Victor, 1962) *

Vic Dickenson Victor Dickenson (August 6, 1906 – November 16, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines. Life and car ...

Urbie Green Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green (August 8, 1926 – December 31, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle. He played on over 250 recordings and released more than twenty albums a ...

, ''Slidin Swing'' (Jazztone, 1957) *

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

Ernie Royal Ernest Andrew Royal (June 2, 1921 in Los Angeles, California – March 16, 1983 in New York City) was a jazz trumpeter. His older brother was clarinetist and alto saxophonist Marshal Royal, with whom he appears on the classic Ray Charles big band ...

, ''Trumpets All Out'' (Savoy, 1957) *

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 193 ...

, '' Images of Curtis Fuller'' (Savoy, 1962) *

, ''B.G. in Hi Fi'' (Capitol, 1955) *Benny Goodman, ''B.G. in Hi Fi Part 2'' (Capitol, 1955) * John P. Hammond, ''Big City Blues'' (Vanguard, 1964) *John P. Hammond, ''Mirrors'' (Vanguard, 1967) *

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

, '' The Saxophone Section'' (World Wide, 1958) *

Eddie Heywood Edward Heywood Jr. (December 4, 1915 – January 3, 1989) was an American jazz pianist and composer particularly active in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Heywood was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. His father, Eddie Heywood Sr., was a ...

, ''The Touch of Eddie Heywood'' (RCA Victor, 1958) *Eddie Heywood, ''Breezin' Along with the Breeze'' (Mercury, 1959) *Eddie Heywood, ''Eddie Heywood at the Piano'' (Mercury, 1960) * Andre Hodeir, ''American Jazzmen Play Andre Hodeir's Essais'' (Savoy, 1957) * Willis Jackson, '' Neapolitan Nights'' (Prestige, 1963) *Willis Jackson, '' Star Bag'' (Prestige, 1968) * Lonnie Johnson, ''Blues by Lonnie Johnson'' (Prestige Bluesville, 1960) *

& Wild Bill Davis, ''

Blue Rabbit ''Blue Rabbit'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges and organist Wild Bill Davis featuring performances recorded in 1963 and 1964 and released on the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1964) *

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene Ammo ...

, ''Hollar!'' (Prestige, 1963) *Etta Jones, '' Love Shout'' (Prestige, 1963) *Etta Jones, ''The Jones Girl'' (King, 1958) *

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

& Buck Clayton, ''Jazz Spectacular'' (Columbia, 1956) *

Michael Lessac Michael Lessac (born 1940) is a theatre, television, and film director and screenwriter. Lessac is also the Artistic Director of Colonnades Theatre Lab, Inc and of Colonnades Theatre Lab, South Africa. He is the Project Creator & Director of the ...

, ''Sleep Faster, We Need the Pillow'' (Columbia, 1968) *

& Bobby Jaspar, '' Flute Flight'' (Prestige, 1957) *Herbie Mann & Bobby Jaspar, '' Flute Souffle'' (Prestige, 1957) *Herbie Mann, '' Yardbird Suite'' (Savoy, 1957) *

, ''

'' (EmArcy, 1954) * Sam Most, ''I'm Nuts About the Most..Sam Most That Is!'' (Bethlehem, 1955) *

Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Washington; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. ...

, ''And I Love Him!'' (Atlantic, 1965) * Mel Powell, ''Borderline'' (Vanguard, 1954) *Mel Powell, ''Thigamagig'' (Vanguard, 1954) *Mel Powell, ''Out on a Limb'' (Vanguard, 1955) * The Rooftop Singers, ''Walk Right In!'' (Vanguard, 1963) * A. K. Salim, '' Flute Suite'' (Savoy, 1957) *

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, ''!Viva! Vaughan'' (Mercury, 1964) * Joe Venuti, ''Plays Gershwin'' (Golden Crest, 1960) *

, ''The Spirit of Charlie Parker'' (World Wide, 1958) *Frank Wess, ''The Frank Wess Quartert'' (Moodsville, 1960) * Bob Wilber, ''New Clarinet in Town'' (Classic Editions, 1960) * The Three Playmates, ''The Three Playmates'' (Savoy, 1957)Savoy Records discography
Jazzdisco.org. Retrieved 24 June 2013.

References

*Ron Wynn, Bobby Donaldsonat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Bobby 1922 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American drummers American jazz drummers Jazz musicians from Massachusetts Savoy Records artists American male drummers American male jazz musicians Drummers from Massachusetts