Stan Levey RIP

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He will be sorely missed.

STAN LEVEY, JAZZ DRUMMER AND BEBOP PIONEER, DEAD AT 79

Jazz drummer and bebop pioneer Stan Levey, who gave up music

for photography in his later years, has died at age 79 in

Van Nuys, Calif. Levey grabbed public attention for the

bebop sound he created in the mid-1940s with jazz greats

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. The self-taught

Philadelphia native gained greater financial rewards in the

Big Band era playing with Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and

Stan Kenton. Levey was a studio musician for hundreds of

movies and TV shows, and wrote the music for five Walt

Disney Co. documentaries. In his 70s, however, Levey gave

up music for commercial photography. His wife told the New

York Times many friends never knew of his music career. The

Sherman Oaks, Calif., resident died April 19 two weeks after

undergoing jaw cancer surgery, his wife said. A documentary

about his career, "Stan Levey: The Original Original," has

been released on DVD.

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[jasonguthartz]

His career in boxing and his relation to Miles is mentioned in an article in the new issue of Stop Smiling:

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/current_issue.html

[robviti]

hans started a thread announcing that stan had passed away the day after his death. here's the link: stan levey