Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Gordon “Specs” Powell was born June 5, 1922 in New York City. He started out musically on the piano but by the late 1930s he became exclusively a drummer. He began in the swing era working with Edgar Hayes in 1939, Benny Carter in 1941-42 and Ben Webster.

He started working as a staff musician for CBS in 1943 and by the early 60s he was lead drummer on The Ed Sullivan Show. He only led one recording session for Roulette Records in 1957 titled “Movin’ In”.

Remaining active until the 1970s, Specs Powell, jazz drummer and percussionist that worked in the bebop and hard bop idioms was honored by the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 2004.

Though he passed away three years later on September 15, 2007 at the age of 85, Specs Powell selected discography lists his orchestra and big band albums, “Movin’ In” and “Big Band Jazz” and left behind an impressive albeit a selected collection of recordings with Teddy Wilson, Jess Stacy, Red Norvo, Erroll Garner, Shirley Scott, Reuben Wilson, Bernard Purdie and Billy Butler among others.


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