Alan Dawson

Alan Dawson (July 14, 1929 – February 23, 1996) was an American jazz drummer and percussion teacher based in Boston.
Biography
Dawson was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he played with the Army Dance Band while stationed at Fort Dix from 1951 to 1953. During his tenure, Dawson explored the post-bop era by performing with pianist Sabby Lewis. After being discharged from the army, Dawson toured Europe with Lionel Hampton.
In early 1960, he was based in Boston for a regular engagement with John Neves, bass, and Leroy Flander, piano.
Dawson was an early teacher of drummers Tony Williams and Joseph Smyth, known for his work with the Sawyer Brown country music group. Other students included Terri Lyne Carrington, Julian Vaughn, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Smith, Kenwood Dennard, Gerry Hemingway, Jeff Sipe, Billy Kilson, Joe Farnsworth, Bob Gullotti, and many others. Dawson began teaching at Berklee College of Music in 1957. He 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, Massachusetts.
Dawson's teaching style emphasized the music as a whole, rather than concentrating 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, Dawson also maintained a prolific performing and recording career. Dawson was the house drummer for Lennie's on the Turnpike in Peabody, Massachusetts, from 1963 through 1970. This gig allowed him to perform with a diverse group of jazz 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 1972. His performance credits also included stints with Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins, Jaki Byard, Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon, Lee Konitz, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, and Tal Farlow.
Dawson died of leukemia on February 23, 1996.
Discography
As leader
Waltzin' with Flo (1992)
As a sideman
With Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck and Gerry Mulligan: Compadres (Columbia, 1968)
Blues Roots (Columbia, 1968)
The Gates of Justice (Decca, 1969)
Brubeck/Mulligan/Cincinnati (Decca, 1970)
Summit Sessions (Columbia, 1970)
Live at the Berlin Philharmonie (Columbia, 1970)
The Last Set at Newport (Atlantic, 1971)
We're All Together Again for the First Time (Atlantic, 1973)
All the Things We Are (Atlantic, 1973–74 [1976])
With Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard Quartet Live! (Prestige, 1965)
The Last from Lennie's (Prestige, 1965 [2003])
Freedom Together! (Prestige, 1966)
Jaki Byard with Strings! (Prestige, 1968)
The Jaki Byard Experience (Prestige, 1968)
With Arnett Cobb
Live at Sandy's! (Muse, 1978)
With Al Cohn
Play It Now (Xanadu, 1975)
With Sonny Criss
This is Criss! (Prestige, 1966)
Portrait of Sonny Criss (Prestige, 1967)
The Beat Goes On! (Prestige, 1968)
With Booker Ervin
The Freedom Book (Prestige, 1963)
The Song Book (Prestige, 1964)
The Blues Book (Prestige, 1964)
The Space Book (Prestige, 1964)
Groovin' High (Prestige, 1963–64)
The Trance (Prestige, 1965)
Setting the Pace (Prestige, 1965) – with Dexter Gordon
Heavy!!! (Prestige, 1966)
With Frank Foster
Fearless Frank Foster (Prestige, 1965)
Soul Outing! (Prestige, 1966)
With Terry Gibbs
Bopstacle Course (Xanadu, 1974)
With Dexter Gordon
The Panther! (Prestige, 1970)
With Gigi Gryce & Clifford Brown
Gigi Gryce And His Big Band, Vol. 1 (Blue Note, 1954)
With Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton And His Orchestra Live In Sweden (Century/Stash, 1953)
With Illinois Jacquet
Go Power! (Cadet, 1966)
Bottoms Up (Prestige, 1968)
With Hank Jones
Compassion (Black & Blue, 1978)
Bluesette (Black & Blue, 1979)
With Quincy Jones
Jazz Abroad (EmArcy, 1955)
With Eric Kloss
Grits & Gravy (Prestige, 1966)
First Class Kloss! (Prestige, 1967)
Life Force (Prestige, 1967)
We're Goin' Up (Prestige, 1967)
In the Land of the Giants (Prestige, 1969)
With Junior Mance
Harlem Lullaby (Atlantic, 1967)
I Believe to My Soul (Atlantic, 1968)
"With Charles McPhersonCon Alma! (Prestige, 1965)With James MoodyDon't Look Away Now! (Prestige, 1969)With Houston PersonChocomotive (Prestige, 1967)With Jimmy RaneyMomentum (MPS, 1975)With Sonny RollinsLive in '65 & '68 (DVD) (NAXOS, 2008)With Sonny StittTune-Up! (Cobblestone, 1972)With Buddy TateLive at Sandy's (Muse, 1978 [1980])
Hard Blowin' (Muse, 1978 [1984])With The Cryan' ShamesSynthesis (Columbia, 1968)With Warren Vaché Jr. Iridescence (Concord Jazz, 1981 [1999])With Eddie "Cleanhead" VinsonLive at Sandy's (Muse, 1978 [1981])
Hold It Right There! (Muse, 1978 [1984])With Phil Woods'''Musique du Bois'' (Muse, 1974)
References
External links
Alan Dawson — In Memoriam (Drummer Cafe)
Drummerworld's Alan Dawson page
Bio from the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame
Jazz Portraits from the WGBH Archives: Alan Dawson a radio documentary from WGBH Radio Boston
Alan Dawson Interviewed by Eric Jackson on Eric in the Evening
1929 births
1996 deaths
People from Marietta, Pennsylvania
Hard bop drummers
American jazz drummers
Berklee College of Music faculty
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Dave Brubeck Quartet members