I first met Shelly Manne in the late ’50s in New York City, when he was performing at the Village Vanguard with his own group. I introduced myself on a break between sets, and Shelly instantly treated me as a friend. He just included me in that special fraternity of drummers. I was over-whelmed by his warmth and his kindness. Shelly spent most of the break talking with me. He was very encouraging and I will never forget that evening. The next time I ran into Shelly was on a Benny Goodman TV special. This was my second big TV show as a member of Benny’s band. There were many guest artists including Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Andre Previn, Red Norvo, Harry James and Shelly. To be honest, being in my early 20’s, I was a bit apprehensive to be playing with so many famous artists. But once again, Shelly […]

January 1985 Issue