Denzil Best

Denzil DaCosta Best (April 27, 1917 – May 24, 1965) was an American jazz percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent bebop drummer in the 1950s and early '60s.

Best, who was trained on piano, trumpet, and bass, concentrated on the drums starting in 1943. Between 1943 and 1944 he worked with Ben Webster, and subsequently with Coleman Hawkins (1944–1945), 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 with Lennie Tristano and also recorded later with Lee Konitz. After a car accident he played in 1954 with Artie Shaw, and then in a trio with Erroll Garner (1955–1957). Following this he played with Phineas Newborn, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday and Tyree Glenn. In 1962 he appeared on the first release by Sheila Jordan. He suffered from paralysis after this and was no longer able to play; he died after falling down a staircase in a New York Subway station.

'Denzil Best' is featured as a movie character in the following productions:

Monica Z (2013)

Actors: Kjell Bergqvist (actor), Jessica Ask (producer), Danny Boushebel (actor), Viking Almquist (actor), Åsa Mossberg (editor), Alex Kruz (actor), Per Fly (director), Rob Morgan (actor), Kicki Ilander (costume designer), Sverrir Gudnason (actor), Silvana Jakich (actress), Lillie Aleksandrov (miscellaneous crew), Cecilia Ljung (actress), Jonas Rydergren (miscellaneous crew), Rikard Andersson (miscellaneous crew),

Plot: "Monica Z" is a biopic about the Swedish singer and actress Monica Zetterlund focusing on her journey from a job as a telephone operator in a small town in Sweden to stardom in the clubs of New York and Stockholm. During her career, Zetterlund recorded numerous jazz albums and appeared in 10 films. In 1963 she represented Sweden in the Eurovision song contest and in 1972 won Sweden's national film prize - a Guldbagge - for best supporting actress for her role in "The Emigrants" ("Utvandrarna"). Scoliosis forced Zetterlund to retired from performing in 1999. She died six years later after a fire in her apartment in Stockholm.

Keywords: 1960s, balancing-family-and-career, biopic, double-bass, ella-fitzgerald, eurovision-song-contest, father-daughter-relationship, female-singer, mother-daughter-relationship, nightclub
Genres: Biography, Drama, Music,

photo: AP / Gonzalo Fuentes, Pool via AP

French President Francois Hollande attends a national conference on Handicap at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, May 19, 2016.

[UPDATE]: Egyptian, French Authorities Open EgyptAir Investigations, Bodies Recovered

Edit WorldNews.com 19 May 2016

Egypt’s chief prosecutor and the Paris prosecutor have ordered an “urgent investigation” into the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804, which crashed in the Mediterranean on Thursday with 66 people aboard en route from Paris to Cairo, Breitbart reported. Meanwhile, rescue teams have recovered the first two bodies thought to be from the crash, according to the Al Arabia channel, quoting Greek sources ... “I’m not excluding any theory....

photo: Creative Commons / Marc Nozell

Trump speaking in Manchester, New Hampshire 8 Feb 2016

Report: Defunct Trump University, Saudi Arabia Still Bring In Cash For Billionaire

Edit WorldNews.com 19 May 2016

The reports include estimates of his assets, income and debt since the beginning of 2015, the report said.In his 104-page filing, he’s listed as having 527 current job titles, most leadership roles in his multitude of companies. Trump claims he’s worth $10 billion, but the records show he has at least $1.47 billion in assets and at least $315 million in liabilities — although it’s possible his assets are worth as much as he says....

photo: AP / Thomas Ranner

This August 21, 2015 photo shows an EgyptAir Airbus A320 with the registration SU-GCC taking off from Vienna International Airport, Austria. Egyptian aviation officials said on Thursday May 19, 2016 that an EgyptAir plane with the registration SU-GCC, traveling from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed off the Greek island of Karpathos.

Airport Workers in the Spotlight After Egyptair Crash

Edit Time Magazine 19 May 2016

It could be weeks before officials know why Egyptair Flight MS804 vanished from the sky on Thursday morning, with 66 people on board. But French authorities have begun hunting for a cause, including the possibility an explosive device might have been placed on board the Paris-Cairo flight at Charles de Gaulle airport ... for its return trip to the Egyptian capital ... Their numbers have increased since the November attacks ... E.U ... ....

photo: Via YouTube

US B52 bomber crashes on Guam, all crew safe

Edit Gulf News 19 May 2016

'Stratofortress' aircraft goes down shortly after take-off; all seven crew escape unharmed ... ....

photo: AP / Raphael Satter

Reporters are seen through a frosted glass partition at the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris on Thursday, May 19, 2016. (AP/Raphael Satter)

[UPDATE]: Egyptian Aviation Minister: Terrorist Attack Took Down EgyptAir Jet

Edit WorldNews.com 19 May 2016

Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said a terrorist attack was more likely to have taken down the missing EgyptAir aircraft early Thursday morning rather than technical failure, Gulf News Egypt reported. There were no known security concerns about passengers aboard the missing plane, but further checks are underway ... The plane was due to arrive at 3.05 a.m. local time....

search tools

You can search using any combination of the items listed below.

Language:

Sort type:

Arrived Within:

Search Type:

New CDs: Alex G, Duncan Sheik, and Erroll Garner

Edit Lexington Herald-Leader 12 Oct 2015

Alex G. "Beach Music". (Domino (ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)). Things are looking up for Alex Giannascoli ... Don't let the noisy opening track throw you ... - Dan DeLuca. Duncan Sheik. "Legerdemain" ... - A.D. Amorosi ... In 1955, "Concert by the Sea," 11 selections from a gig by pianist Erroll Garner, bassist Eddie Calhoun, and drummer Denzil Best, was released, selling more than 200,000 units and establishing Garner as a concert favorite....

"Concert by the Sea" to receive deluxe 60th anniversary reissue

Edit The Examiner 15 Jun 2015

A perennial best-seller – and one of the best-know jazz albums ever recorded in Northern California – is scheduled to receive a deluxe re-issue, The New York Times reports this morning ... Garner’s career but also an essential touchstone for pianists, and one of the best-selling jazz albums ever ... He appeared at the Sunset Center with the bassist Eddie Calhoun and the drummer Denzil Best, who constituted his trio at the time....

ECM honors Chicago’s contributions to avant-garde jazz in the twentieth century

Edit The Examiner 30 Mar 2015

I thus tend to cast my lot with those who claim that free jazz began on May 16, 1949, when pianist Lenny Tristano was recording a session with Lee Konitz (alto saxophone), Warne Marsh (tenor saxophone), and a rhythm section of Billy Bauer on guitar, Arnold Fishkin on bass, and Denzil Best on drums ... The result is that this entire album makes for some of the best ensemble jazz work I have encountered for some time ... ....

Monterey on my mind, Erroll Garner in my ears

Edit The Examiner 24 Jul 2014

the bass (Eddie Calhoun) and drums (Denzil Best) are receded.” (Make sure you pick up a remastered CD.) Also, it wasn’t really recorded as the cover boasted in Carmel, as Will Friedwall noted in a 2009 article ... "Concert" begins with one of Garner's characteristic left-field introductions – even his bassist and drummer, in this case Eddie Calhoun and Denzil Best, rarely had an idea where he was going to go....

Mike Longo and the New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble: Live From New York! (2013)

Edit All About Jazz 28 Dec 2013

By DAN BILAWSKY,. When trumpet titan Dizzy Gillespie Dizzy Gillespie. 1917 - 1993. trumpet. left this earth he left no shortage of disciples behind. His now-legendary peers (i.e. saxophonists Jimmy Heath Jimmy Heath. b.1926. sax, tenor. and Benny Golson Benny Golson. b.1929. sax, tenor ... b.1949. trumpet ... b.1948. saxophone ... b.1963. piano ... piano ... and a pair of classics that can be connected to Gillespie—Golson's "Whisper Not" and Denzil Best's "Wee."...

'Denzil Best' is featured as a movie character in the following productions:

Monica Z (2013)

Best, Denzil Filmography

Denzil Best

ALBUMS

The Engine Room: A History of Jazz Drumming From Storyville to 52nd Street

Jazz-Club Mainstream - Drums

Born: 1917-04-27

Died: 1965-05-24

[UPDATE]: Egyptian, French Authorities Open EgyptAir Investigations, Bodies Recovered

Report: Defunct Trump University, Saudi Arabia Still Bring In Cash For Billionaire

Airport Workers in the Spotlight After Egyptair Crash

US B52 bomber crashes on Guam, all crew safe

[UPDATE]: Egyptian Aviation Minister: Terrorist Attack Took Down EgyptAir Jet

You can search using any combination of the items listed below.

New CDs: Alex G, Duncan Sheik, and Erroll Garner

"Concert by the Sea" to receive deluxe 60th anniversary reissue

ECM honors Chicago’s contributions to avant-garde jazz in the twentieth century

Monterey on my mind, Erroll Garner in my ears

Mike Longo and the New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble: Live From New York! (2013)