Lavere "Buster" Harding (March 19, 1917 – November 14, 1965) was a Canadian-born 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 ...

pianist, composer and arranger.

Early life

Born to Benjamin "Ben" and Ada (née Shreve) Harding in North Buxton,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Harding was raised in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, where as a teenager he started on his own band.

Later life and career

In 1939, Harding went to work for the

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive Swing music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...

big band, and then in the early 1940s went to work for the

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 ...

band, and later

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

. He became a freelance arranger and worked with

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 ...

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

, and

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 ...

, among others. In 1949, he was the

musical director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

for

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

recording sessions. In the early 1960s, Harding played with Jonah Jones, though he was known primarily as an arranger and composer. Harding did not record as a leader.Yanow, Scot
" Buster Harding – Biography by Scott Yanow"
AllMusic. Retrieved January 25, 2016. He died on November 14, 1965, in New York City.

Select discography

With

*'' The Count!'' (Clef, 1952

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also known as Magyars) near Augsburg (Germa ...

- as arranger *'' Basie'' (Clef, 1954) - as arranger *''The Story of Jazz'' (

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

) *''Basie Ball'' (

) *''Sounds of Jazz'' (

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. Fontana Distribution, an independent label distributor, takes its name from the label. History Fontana began in the 1950s as a subsidi ...

) *''One O'Clock Jump'' (

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) With

*''All the Cats Join In'' (

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

) With

*''The Big Band Sound of Dizzy Gillespie'' (

Verve Records Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...

) *''Dizzy Gillespie: Best of Small Groups'' (

) *''

Dizzy and Strings ''Dizzy and Strings'' (also released as ''Diz Big Band'') is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, released in 1955 by Norgran Records.

'' (Norgan Records, 1954) also released as ''Diz Big Band'' (

) - as arranger *''Jazz Spectrum Vol. 11: Dizzy Gillespie'' (Metro Records) With

*''Broadcast Performances, Vol. 1: Radio And TV Broadcasts (1949-52)'' ( ESP Disk) *''Broadcast Performances, Vol. 2: Radio And TV Broadcasts (1953-56)'' ( ESP Disk)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Buster 1917 births 1965 deaths Swing pianists Swing arrangers American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American jazz composers American male jazz composers Canadian jazz pianists Canadian jazz composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century Canadian pianists 20th-century American pianists Musicians from Cleveland Jazz musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century Canadian jazz composers 20th-century Black Canadian musicians 20th-century American jazz composers