Duke Ellington once described Louie Bellson not only as the world's greatest drummer, but the world's greatest musician. Bellson died last Saturday at his Los Angeles home. He was 84. Born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni in Rock Falls, Illinois, he started to play the drums at age 3. As a teenager, he won the Gene Krupa talent contest and soon joined the big bands of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Harry James. In the 50s, he was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Bellson wrote over 1.000 songs and is considered to be the first to use two bass drums simultaneously. He married singer Pearl Bailey in 1952 and they were together until Bailey's death in 1990. Bellson played behind the greatest musicians of the last century, among them Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lionel Hampton. He also toured with the famous Jazz at the Philharmonic and up to his death, was known for being a tireless educator and for giving clinics to students. Among his many recordings are classics on Verve, Pablo, and Concord Records. His last recording in 2007 was a joint collaboration with Clark Terry on the Percussion Power label called Louie & Clark Expedition, Vol. 2 where they worked with a 17-piece big band.