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Alan Dawson

Alan Dawson was a respected jazz drummer and widely influential percussion teacher based in Boston. He was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, MA. Serving in the Army for Korean War duty, Dawson played with the Army Dance Band while stationed at Fort Dix from 1951-1953. During his tenure, Alan explored the post-bop era by performing with pianist Sabby Lewis. After being released from the Army, Alan toured Europe with Lionel Hampton.

Dawson is best remembered as an early teacher of Tony Williams. Other former students include: Terri Lyne Carrington, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Smith, Kenwood Dennard, Gerry Hemingway, Jeff Sipe and many others. He began teaching at Berklee College of Music in 1957. Dawson suffered a ruptured disc in 1975 which led to him halting his touring schedule, to leave Berklee and limit his teaching to his home in Lexington, MA.

His teaching style emphasized the music as a whole rather than concentrate on percussion alone. He stressed the importance of learning the melody and structure of the tune to better fulfill the role of accompaniment. For this purpose, he had students play over standards while also singing the melody out loud. He constantly strived for balance between musical ideas and strict technique. He was big on rudiments and wrote extensive exercises intended to be practiced with brushes. He believed using brushes with his "Rudimental Ritual" would reduce stick rebound allowing the sense of "picking up" the sticks. While teaching, Alan also maintained a prolific performing and recording career.

Dawson was the house drummer for Lennie's On The Turnpike in Peabody, MA from 1963 through to 1970. This gig allowed him to perform with a diverse group of jazz artists. Around this time, Dawson was Boston's premier jazz drummer for local acts as well as bigger name touring artists.

Throughout the 1960s Dawson recorded almost exclusively with saxophonist Booker Ervin on Prestige Records. In 1968 Dawson replaced Joe Morello in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and continued until 1975. His performance credits also included stints with Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins, Jaki Byard, Booker Ervin, Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon, Lee Konitz, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Tal Farlow and many other top jazz artists.

Dawson's teaching methods have been passed on by many of his former students. Books on his approach have been written by John Ramsay and Osami Mizuno, both former students. Alan Dawson died of leukemia on February 23, 1996.

Alan Dawson with Booker Ervin

by David A. Orthmann
July 21, 2004

One of the great jazz drummers of the mid-to-late twentieth century, Alan Dawson (1929-1996) did not enjoy a particularly high profile, largely because of choosing to gig and teach in the Boston area for most of his career. Dawson combined a crisp drum sound, excellent utilitarian technique, a heightened awareness of melodies and song forms, and the belief that his role was to help other musicians play their best. His heyday was the decade of the nineteen-sixties, when he took ...

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Album Review

The Jaki Byard Quartet with Joe Farrell: The Last From Lennie's

Read "The Last From Lennie's" reviewed by David Rickert

by David Rickert
January 16, 2004

If anyone wanted to record a history of jazz piano, it could have been done by Jaki Byard, an incredibly versatile pianist who could play virtually any style. However, Byard was too cagey to have approached a project of that magnitude, preferring to meld his influences within the space of a single composition. Utilizing a method that at times seemed as if Eubie Blake’s left hard and Cecil Taylor’s right hand were playing in Art Tatum’s style, Byard created a ...

286

Album Review

Jaki Byard Quartet: The Last From Lennie's

Read "The Last From Lennie's" reviewed by Russell Moon

by Russell Moon
November 25, 2003

It's Party Time!

Prestige recorded pianist Jaki Byard's April 15, 1965 quartet gig at a suburban Boston nightclub called Lennie's on the Turnpike. Two LPs were subsequently produced from the session, Live! and Live! Vol. 2. Every track save one was subsequently issued on a single reissue CD entitled Live!. The brand new CD called The Last From Lennie's features the one track not included on the earlier reissue, plus unreleased recordings from the same evening.

Byard's Lennie's quartet features ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Alan Dawson

Source: Michael Ricci
July 14, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Alan Dawson's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Alan Dawson

Source: Michael Ricci
July 14, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Alan Dawson's birthday today!

Birthday

Source: Michael Ricci
July 14, 2015

All About Jazz is celebrating Alan Dawson's birthday today! Alan Dawson was a respected jazz drummer and widely influential percussion teacher based in Boston. He was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, MA. Serving in the Army for Korean War duty, Dawson played with the Army Dance Band while stationed at Fort Dix from 1951-1953. During his tenure, Alan explored the post-bop era by performing with pianist Sabby Lewis. After being released from the Army... Read more. Place ...
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