Ben Riley (b. 17 July 1933) is an American jazz drummer who has worked with Thelonious Monk, Alice Coltrane, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ahmad Jamal, and Kenny Barron, and was a member with Barron of Sphere. July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Thelonius Monk, as featured on the cover of his 1956 album, Brilliant Corners Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917–February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... Alice Coltrane (b. ... Stanley Getz, better known as Stan Getz (February 2, 1927 - June 6, 1991) was an American jazz musician. ... Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913–October 29, 1987), better known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and Big band leader. ... Edward Davis (March 2, 1922 - November 3, 1986), who performed and recorded as Eddie Lockjaw Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Ahmad Jamal (born July 2, 1930) is a highly-regarded American Jazz pianist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. His given name was Fritz Jones but upon converting to Islam around 1952 he began using the name Ahmad Jamal. ... Kenny Barron, (born June 9, 1943 in Philadelphia) on June 9, 1943, is an United States contemporary jazz pianist. ...

Early life and influences

Riley was born in Savannah, Georgia, but his parents moved to New York City when he was four years old, and he was brought up there. His father was a shipyard worker, and his mother did domestic work. After a couple of years living in Baltimore, Maryland during World War II (when his father was working for the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the family moved to Sugar Hill, Georgia, where Riley stayed until moving back to New York. City nickname: The Hostess City Location Government County Chatham Mayor Otis S. Johnson Physical characteristics Area      Land      Water 202. ... New York City, officially named the City of New York, is the most populous city in the United States, and the most densely populated major city in North America. ... Baltimore skyline at dusk Motto: The Greatest City in America (formerly The City That Reads; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Nickname: Charm City Mob Town B-more Location in Maryland Founded Incorporated 30 July 1729 1797  County Independent city Borough Parrish Mayor Martin J... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ... The Bethlehem Steel Corporation (1857-2003), based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, once was the second largest steel producer in the United States (after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based US Steel). ... Sugar Hill is a city located in Gwinnett County, Georgia. ...

His interest in drumming began in Savannah, where he listened to marching bands, but in new York he lived in the same neighbourhood as Sonny Rollins, Billy Taylor, Jimmy Cobb, and Roy Haynes, from the last of whom especially he learnt a great deal. He then studied with Cecil Scott, a saxophonist and band leader whose band played at the Club Sudan, near the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, and Riley occasionally sat in with them. The Wisconsin Band, known for its unique stop at the top high step, performs at the HHH Metrodome during a football game against arch-rival Minnesota. ... An early Rollins picture graces the cover of Volume One Theodore Walter (Sonny) Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Billy Taylor was born in Greenville, North Carolina on July 24, 1921. ... Jimmy Cobb (born January 20, 1929) is an American jazz drummer. ... Roy Owen Haynes (born Boston, Massachusetts, March 13, 1925) is one of the most recorded drummers in jazz. ... Saxophones of different sizes play in different registers. ... A Bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ... The Savoy Ballroom located in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, was a public place for music and dance shows from 1926 to 1958. ... Harlem is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, long known as a major African American cultural and business center. ...

Riley then started learning from another drummer, Phil Wright, who became a popular figure in their neighbourhood because of his ability to write out the drum parts from recordings. This enabled the drummers, such as Cobb and Riley, to learn the parts before joining bands. Aside from playing along to records, their main education came from listening to jam sessions organised and attended by masters such as Art Blakey. Among the master drummers who taught and influenced Riley were Philly Joe Jones and Ed Thigpen (with whom he played at The Composer. A jam session is a musical act where musicians gather and play (or jam) without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, ( October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Joseph Rudolph (Philly Joe) Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. ... Edmund Leonard (Ed) Thigpen (born December 28, 1930) is an American jazz drummer. ...

Early career

In high school Riley played in the school band, and after graduation he joined the army, where he was a paratrooper, and also played with the army band. Upon leaving the army in 1954 he moved to New York, and in 1956 started playing jazz professionally. He played with such musicians as Randy Weston, Mary Lou Williams, Sonny Rollins, Woody Herman, Stan Getz, Billy Taylor, and Johnny Griffin. What made his name, however, and helped direct his career to success, where four years spent playing, touring, and recording with the great pianist, Thelonious Monk. Main article: Secondary education in Japan The Japanese word for a high school is kōtōgakkō (高等学校; literally high school), or kōkō (高校) in short. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mary Lou Williams (May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. ... John Arnold Griffin III (born in 1928) is an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist. ...

External links

• Ben Riley — Drummerworld
• Interview with Ben Riley — by Don Williams for All About Jazz