Latest Drum News
Colin Bailey, a jazz drummer whose decades-long career included working with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Vince Guaraldi, died at his Port Hueneme home on Monday. He was 87 years old.
Michele Munro, Bailey’s widow, said Bailey had been in the hospital for a bout of pneumonia after recovering from COVID-19.
Bailey was born in England in 1934, where he started drumming and learning piano at age 4. By the time he turned 18, he was touring Europe with ragtime pianist Winifred Atwell. Bailey moved to the United States from Sydney, Australia, in 1961 as part of the Australian Jazz Quartet.
Bailey would go on to play on five albums with Guaraldi. As part of the trio, he recorded the famous instrumental “Linus and Lucy,” along with a eight other tracks, for the 1964 album, “Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown.”
It was while working in a jazz club, he was approached to play on Frank Sinatra’s album with bossa nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim. Having only one day to record in the studio, Bailey played on four tracks for the project, according to Munro.
In 1967, Bailey started getting television work. He was a substitute with Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show Band and played on the “Carol Burnett Show,” among other TV credits, and also performed with vibraphonist Terry Gibbs on the “Regis Philbin Show.”
He wrote three books on drum technique, including Bass Drum Control
Ventura County Star’s Jeremy Childs wrote an article about the great jazz drummer Colin Bailey and his history. Above is an excerpt of that article.
Read the full article: HERE
Visit Colin Bailey’s website: HERE
