Roy Porter

Drums, Musical Artist

1923 – 1998

35

Who was Roy Porter?

Roy Lee Porter was an American jazz drummer.

Porter moved from Walsenburg to Colorado Springs when he was eight years old and began playing drums in rhythm and blues bands while a teenager. He attended Wiley College in Texas briefly, where trumpeter Kenny Dorham was a fellow student. He joined Milt Larkin's band in 1943, replacing Joe Marshall.

After military service, Porter settled in Los Angeles, and his services were soon in demand by some of the pioneers of bebop. He worked with Teddy Bunn and Howard McGhee, making his first recordings with the latter. In 1946 he backed Charlie Parker on such Dial classics as "A Night In Tunisia", "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology" and the unfortunate recording of "Lover Man".

Porter played on Los Angeles' Central Avenue with such leading bebop players as Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Teddy Edwards, and in San Francisco with Hampton Hawes and Sonny Criss. He organized and went on the road with a big band in 1949 which included Art Farmer, Jimmy Knepper and Eric Dolphy.

During the 1950s Roy Porter was inactive as a jazz musician due to drug problems and returned to music only infrequently afterwards.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
Jul 30, 1923
Colorado
Also known as
  • Porter, Roy
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Died
Jan 1, 1998

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Roy Porter." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/biography/roy-porter/m/01v13fc>.

Discuss this Roy Porter biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net