VIC BERTON

Vic Berton, an innovative percussionist from the early days of jazz, came from a musically talented family and is said to have played in a pit orchestra when he was only seven. His father was a professional violinist, and the bowed instrument was one of several musical devices that the tot Berton began bumbling with at an age advanced not much further than five. The child also tried piano and drums, mastering the latter to the point that the pit orchestra from the Alhambra Theatre in Milwaukee hired him in 1903. He studied tympani when most kids his age were learning tiddlywinks. At 16, he performed with the symphony orchestras of both Milwaukee and Chicago, and during the First World War as part of John Philip Sousa's navy band. In the early '20s, Berton gigged around Chicago with players such as Art Kahn, Paul Beise, and Arnold Johnson. The drummer led read more...