- Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard (
January 7 ,1925 ,Elizabeth, New Jersey -September 20 ,1988 ,Paris ,France ) was an Americanjazz drummer.Woodyard was largely an
autodidact on drums, and played locally in theNewark, New Jersey area in the 1940s. He gigged withPaul Gayten in anR&B group, and then played in the early 1950s withJoe Holiday ,Roy Eldridge , andMilt Buckner . In 1955, he joinedDuke Ellington 's orchestra, and remained the ensemble's drummer until 1966.After his time with Ellington, Woodyard played behind
Ella Fitzgerald , and then moved toLos Angeles . In the 1970s he played less due to health problems, but recorded withBuddy Rich and toured withClaude Bolling . In 1983 he played in a band withTeddy Wilson ,Buddy Tate , andSlam Stewart . His last recording was onSteve Lacy 's 1988 album "The Door"; he died a little more than a month afterward.References
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jzfixq8gldse~T1 Sam Woodyard] at
Allmusic
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