Shelly Manne was one of the great jazz drummers in history, appearing on more than a thousand records and enjoying a celebrated career as a Hollywood movie musician. Manne played with a dazzling array of musicians, including Bill Evans, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and ran his own nightclub in the 1960s. Although Manne, who was born in New York City on June 11, 1920, started out playing the alto saxophone, he was destined to be a percussionist. His father Max, who produced shows at the Roxy Theatre, was an acclaimed drummer. And Max’s friend, Billy Gladstone, a top drummer in the theatres of New York, showed the young Shelly how to hold the sticks and set up a kit.

Manne spent his late teenage years playing for bands on Transatlantic liners. He made his recording debut with Bobby Byrne’s band in 1939. In 1942, Manne signed up for military service and assigned to the US Coast Guard Band in Brooklyn. The posting meant he was a short subway ride from the jazz clubs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Still wearing his service uniform, Manne would sit in for his drummer hero Max Roach alongside trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. He jammed with saxophone greats Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster.

After the end of World War II Manne went on the road with Stan Kenton’s band and worked with trombonist Kai Winding and bandleader Woody Herman. He said talking to all these top musicians, including a stint on a Jazz at the Philharmonic tour with Ella Fitzgerald was a priceless apprenticeship.

In 1952, Manne made the key decision of his life: he and wife Florence “Flip” Butterfield, a former dancer, relocated to California. It was there that the drummer became the leading light of the West Coast Jazz movement. He formed his own small combos, including the acclaimed Shelly Manne and his Men. Manne’s rendition of Bud Powell’s Un Poco Loco for Contemporary Records in 1956, in which he played the three-minute solo with only one brush in his right hand and a small floor tom is considered one of the most creative drums solos of the era.

Manne’s ability to tailor his skills to the job made him a favorite with Hollywood. In 1954, Manne was hired to play some “complicated” things for Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. He can also be heard on the soundtrack of classics such as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Some Like it Hot” and “Doctor Zhivago.” Manne advised Frank Sinatra on drumming technique for his role in “The Man with the Golden Arm” and got his own chance to shine in front of the camera when he acted in the Oscar-winning 1958 picture “I Want to Live!” and “The Gene Krupa Story.”

Manne continued to work hard in the 1970s and 1980s he branched out and appeared on two albums with Tom Waits and, along with Gerry Mulligan, one with Barry Manilow. He said that late in life he enjoyed most playing in a small trio. On September 9, 1984, he was honored by Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley and the Hollywood Arts Council, who declared it Shelly Manne Day. Just a few weeks later, the 64-year-old suffered a heart attack at home and died on September 26th.

[This piece is excerpted from an article on udiscovermusic.com]

Here is a link to an appearance by Shelly Manne and his Men on a local Los Angeles television program in the early 1960s:

"STRAIGHT NO CHASER"