Bobby Rosengarden

A versatile drummer equally skilled in the studios with a big band or pushing a mainstream combo, Bobby Rosengarden has appeared on countless sessions through the years. He began playing drums when he was 12, studied at the University of Michigan and played in Army bands while in the military (1944-45). After his discharge, Rosengarden worked with Henry Busse (1945-46) and tenorman Alvy West (1946-48) before becoming a busy studio musician. He played at NBC television from 1949-68, switching to ABC in 1969-74, where he led the band for the Dick Cavett Show. Through the years, Rosengarden had opportunities to record (often on percussion) with Duke Ellington (1959), Miles Davis/Gil Evans (1961) and Benny Goodman (starting in the mid-1960s and gigging with Goodman off and on for 20 years). Rosengarden gained some recognition for his work on the Dick Cavett Show and after that he was a member of the World's Greatest Jazz Band (1974-78), Soprano Summit (1975-78), The New York Jazz Repertory Company and Gerry Mulligan's combo. In later years, Rosengarden (who has not led his own recording date) has been most often heard as the drummer with a variety of all-star, swing-oriented mainstream groups. No matter where he plays, he contributes solid swing and taste to the music.