Young, Jimmy

Jazz and blues drummer who effectively crossed over into R&B in the ‘70s, becoming a valuable session man.

In 1974, he appeared on Steven Grossman’s Caravan Tonight and Andy Rey’s Experience and Judgment. A year later, he played drums for the ill-fated Broadway musical Truckload, which never made it out of the weigh station. The bicentennial year saw him beating the skins for Gloria Gaynor’s I’ve Got You, Thelma Jones’ self-titled debut, Marlena Shaw’s Just a Matter of Time, and Phoebe Snow’s Second Childhood.

The following year he joined forces with Jimmy McGriff on Tailgunner, Meco on Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk, and Art Webb on Mr. Flute. In 1978, he went airborne on Celi Bee’s Fly Me on the Wings of Love, helped Jimmy Ponder All Things Beautiful, and laid down tracks with Silver Convention on Love in a Sleeper.

From 27^th April 1986 through 15^th March 1987, he played drums for the revival of the Broadway musical, Sweet Charity. He did the same for the revivals of Hair (for which he drummed in the original production) and Much Ado About Nothing.

Jimmy has worked with a bevy of artists and groups, including Ashford & Simpson, Phil Bodner, Suzanne Ciani, Lou Donaldson, Ceasar Frazier, Art Garfunkel, Maurice Hines, Rupert Holmes, Cristy Lane, Barry Manilow, Herbie Mann, David “Fathead” Newman, Ken Page, The Rice & Beans Orchestra, Frank Sinatra, Sister Sledge, Lonnie Smith, Starland Vocal Band, The Village People, and Nancy Wilson.

The emergence of CD technology has made available a number of compilations on which Jimmy Young has appeared: Check out Birth of the Cool Funk: Vintage Jams and Serious Grooves, Vol. 2, Funky Jazz Organs, and Time Remembered: LRC Jazz Legacy Anthology.

On 19^th June 2008, he could be found playing drums with the Nikki Armstrong Quartet at the Pompei Café in Rutherford, New Jersey.

Frank Sinatra recordings
That’s What God Looks Like To Me (Stan Irvin/Lan O’Kun)
Reprise RPS 49233 (XNY2101S) (US 45)
Theme from “New York, New York” (Fred Ebb/John Kander)
Reprise RPS49233 (XNY 2103 S) (US 45)

Sources:

Young, Jimmy

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