Bobby Rosengarden

Bobby Rosengarden was a strict adherent to the principles of subtlety and restraint, virtues rare in any musician, let alone a drummer. A supremely gifted and far-reaching player, he recorded with jazz icons spanning from Duke Ellington to Miles Davis, but remains best known to the public at large for his stint as bandleader on ABC's The Dick Cavett Show. Born in Elgin, IL, on April 23, 1924, Rosengarden began playing drums as a teen. His mother was an accompanist at the local silent film theater, and he played percussion while she practiced, substituting spoons for want of actual drums or sticks. His parents immediately recognized his talents, and installed Rosengarden under Chicago drum teacher Roy Kapp, who also instructed another budding prodigy, Louie Bellson. He later won a music scholarship to the University of Michigan, where he studied until World War II duty intervened.



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