- Mickey Roker
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Mickey Roker
Left to right: Mickey Roker, Ben Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, and a hidden Rodney Jones in Buffalo, N.Y. 1977Background information Birth name Granville Roker Born March 9, 1932
Miami, Florida, USAGenres Jazz, hard bop, bebop Occupations Drummer Instruments Drums Associated acts Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Duke Pearson, Tommy Flanagan, Ella Fitzgerald, Zoot Sims, Horace Silver, Junior Mance, Sarah Vaughan, Milt Jackson, Herbie Hancock, Phil Woods, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Bucky Pizzarelli, Stanley Turrentine, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Hank Jones, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Locke, many more Granville "Mickey" Roker (born March 9, 1932) is an American jazz drummer. Roker was born into extreme poverty in Miami to Granville (Sr.) and Willie Mae Roker. After his mother died (his father never lived with them), when he was only ten, he was taken by his grandmother to live in Philadelphia with his uncle Walter, who gave him his first drum kit and communicated his love of jazz to his nephew. He also introduced the young Roker to the lively jazz scene in Philadelphia, where the great Philly Joe Jones became Roker's idol.
Roker learned quickly, and he never stopped playing. In the early 1950s he started to gain recognition as a sensitive and yet hard-driving big-band drummer. Especially favored by Dizzy Gillespie, Roker was soon in demand for his supportive skills in both big-band and small-group settings.
Still active on the Philadelphia scene in the 21st century, Roker has recorded with Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Duke Pearson, Tommy Flanagan, Ella Fitzgerald, Zoot Sims, Horace Silver, Junior Mance, Sarah Vaughan, Milt Jackson, Herbie Hancock, Phil Woods, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Bucky Pizzarelli, Stanley Turrentine, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Hank Jones, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Locke, and a seemingly endless list of other jazz greats.
Discography
As sideman
With Duke Pearson
- Wahoo! (1964)
- Honeybuns (1965)
- Prairie Dog (1966)
- Sweet Honey Bee (1966)
- Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band (1967)
- The Phantom (1968)
- Now Hear This (1968)
- How Insensitive (1969)
- It Could Only Happen with You (1970)
With Sonny Rollins
- There Will Never Be Another You (album) (Impulse!, 1965)
- Sonny Rollins on Impulse! (Impulse!, 1965)
With Blue Mitchell
- Boss Horn (1966)
With Frank Foster
- Manhattan Fever (Blue Note, 1968)
With Horace Silver
- All (1972)
- In Pursuit of the 27th Man (1973)
With Milt Jackson
- Olinga (1974)
With Stanley Turrentine
- Rough 'n' Tumble (1966)
- The Spoiler (1966)
With Lee Morgan
- Standards (1967)
- Live at the Lighthouse (1970)
- Sonic Boom (released 1979)
External links
Categories:- American jazz drummers
- 1932 births
- Living people
- Musicians from Miami, Florida
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