Denzil DaCosta Best (April 27, 1917 – May 24, 1965) 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 ...

percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

drummer in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Biography

Best was born in New York City, into a musical Caribbean family originally from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. Trained on piano, trumpet, and bass, he concentrated on the drums starting in 1943. Between 1943 and 1944, he worked with

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

, and subsequently with

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 ...

(1944–45), Illinois Jacquet (1946) and Chubby Jackson. The drummer was known to sit in at Minton's Playhouse. He took part in a recording with George Shearing in 1948 and was a founding member of his Quartet, remaining there until 1952. In 1949, he played on a recording session with Lennie Tristano for Capitol and also recorded later with Lee Konitz. In a 1953 car accident he fractured both legs and was forced into temporary retirement until 1954, when he played with Artie Shaw, and then in a trio with Erroll Garner (1955–57), including Garner's live album '' Concert by the Sea''. Best subsequently played with Phineas Newborn, Nina Simone,

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 ...

and Tyree Glenn, and in October 1962 appeared on the first album by Sheila Jordan ('' Portrait of Sheila''). He suffered from paralysis after this and was no longer able to play; he died aged 48 in 1965, after falling down a staircase in a New York City Subway station.

Compositions

Best composed several bebop tunes, including "Move" (which was featured in an arrangement by John Lewis on the seminal 1949 & 1950 recordings released in 1957 on the

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

Capitol album, '' Birth of the Cool''), "Wee", "Nothing but D. Best", and "Dee Dee's Dance", and with

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

, " Bemsha Swing".Korall (2004), p. 29. Best's composition "45 Degree Angle" was recorded by Herbie Nichols and Mary Lou Williams.

Influence

Unlike many bebop percussionists, who loaded the musical space with accents against the prevailing meter and thus created rhythmic intensity, Best resumed the ''legato'' development of Jo Jones. He played on the beat and rarely used loud accents. Playing in this way he was not only a model for cool jazz but also influenced countless bar combos. Best was renowned for his brush work: fellow drummer Jake Hanna said that he "might be the best brush player of all drummers",Falzerano, Chet (1995), '' Gretsch Drums: The Legacy of "That Great Gretsch Sound"'', Hal Leonard Corporation. and

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...

listed Best in his top three.

Discography

With Erroll Garner *'' Concert by the Sea'' (Columbia, 1955) With Sheila Jordan *'' Portrait of Sheila'' (Blue Note, 1962) With Lee Konitz *'' Subconscious-Lee'' (Prestige, 1950) With Phineas Newborn, Jr. *'' Fabulous Phineas'' (RCA Victor, 1958) With

Seldon Powell Seldon Powell (November 15, 1928 – January 25, 1997) was an American tenor saxophonist and flautist whose work spanned multiple genres, including jazz and rhythm and blues. Background Powell worked with Tab Smith (1949), Lucky Millinder (194 ...

*''We Paid Our Dues!'' (Epic, 1961) With Lennie Tristano *''

Crosscurrents ''CrossCurrents'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Association for Public Religion and Intellectual Life. The editor-in-chief is S. Brent Rodriguez-Plate (Hamilton College). Before 1990, it was published by Cross Cu ...

'' (Capitol, 1949

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recently held by the Kievan Rus', into six ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Denzil 1917 births 1965 deaths American jazz drummers Bebop drummers Drummers from New York City 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians