SAVOY All Stars Band

JC Heard

Drums
​James Charles Heard (1917 -1988)
Part of the New Earl Hines Trio, with Earl and Walter Page

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​I began playing drums at age 11 in Detroit.  I saw Chick Webb there in 1937 and decided to become a pro.  I started with Teddy Wilson's band in 1939 and went on to play with Benny Carter, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and Dizzy Gillespie.  I was with Cab from 1942-45 and appeared in feature films, including Stormy Weather.   They say my style is a combination of swing, bop and blues.   I enjoyed playing everything


I toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic in the 1950s, and in 53 performed and taught in Japan for several years.  I married my wife Hiroko there too.
Back in NYC I played with Teddy Wilson's trio and the Coleman Hawkins Roy Eldridge Quintet.  IN 1966 I moved back to my home town, Detroit, and led bands.  I started a big band in 1981 and recorded and performed until my death in 1988.   The Detroit Jazz Festival still holds a yearly jazz drumming competition in my honor.

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I am the house band drummer at Savoy Ballroom, where it is the 1930s and 40s every day of the week.  I used to be Cab Calloway's drummer at the Cotton Club back in the day, but now I have a regular gig at Savoy, playing with the Savoy All Stars and the New Earl Hines Trio.
If you want to groove to some great swing tunes, past and present, check out Savoy, on Creations Park