Los Angeles Drummer Takes Jazz to the High Seas
(Dec 1, 2011, 12:01 AM PST)

"I'm pretty sure that night if Johnny Hartman could have got a hold of somebody else who had some brushes, I wouldn't have been on that gig. But because I was on that gig, I learned how to use brushes."

Many of you may have wondered what happened to me and where I've been for the past couple of months. Well, I just got back in town from a world tour on the high seas as part of a dynamic jazz ensemble headed by native Los Angeles drummer, Manny Kellough.

Manny has done a tremendous service to the cruise line industry. He's introduced jazz to the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line via a few of their Celebrity Cruise Line ships and today, because of Manny Kellough, jazz is a part of their onboard entertainment.

No newcomer to cruising, Manny's first time on a cruise ship was in 1968. He was a precocious teenager attending Belmont High School. The other members of his group went to Jefferson High in Los Angeles. Their fledgling group, called The Rhythm Rebellion, featured both Tony Maiden and Bobby Watson. This up-and-coming youthful band was hired for a European gig that didn't work out. Finding themselves stranded overseas with no money and no way home, Manny and his group of teen musicians managed to land a cruise line gig to play their way home. The Cruise ship was called the Christopher Columbo and it sailed from Naples back to New York. It was a lot easier to get back to Los Angeles from New York than from European shores. That was Manny's initial introduction to cruise line entertainment.

When the popular high school musicians disbanded, Maiden and Watson joined Rufus featuring Chaka Khan. Saxophonist Rocky Peeples and Manny Kellough joined the Billy Preston Band. Consequently, Manny Kellough remained with Preston for the next 25 years and he has four gold records to show for his talent and dedication.

Manny's love of music began at a very young age. Recognizing her son's innate musical abilities, his mother encouraged him to take piano or accordion lessons. But Manny was enamored by the drums and relentlessly pursued learning that instrument. He explained:

"I started playing at the tender age of eight in church. I attended Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and I didn't even know what the drums were. There was this deacon by the name of Deacon Avery and I used to sit and watch Deacon Avery play every Sunday. All he had was a bass drum and a snare drum. I initially learned how to play like that; just bass and snare. To this day I go back to my home church and my pastor always has me stand up to let the congregation know I am a child of their church and that's where my career started.

"I started playing professionally at the age of thirteen with an older group of musicians called 'The Whirlwinds'. I was still in school, Virgil Junior High School on Vermont St. The bus stopped right in front of this restaurant and one day I just went in there. I saw these people taking instruments into the place, so I went in to see what was going on and turns out they needed a drummer. So that's how it started. They were a family group and one of the brothers played organ. They asked my mother if I could play the drums in their group and she allowed it. I was too young to be in a club, but one side of the club was a restaurant. I had to go over on the restaurant side during the breaks. Basically, the way I got paid was they fed me. That's where I was first introduced to apple pie and ice cream." He laughed.


"I was listening to Bird and the old cats. That's who I learned from. The organ trio used to play at the Western Avenue Bowling Alley and that's where the Luke Perry Trio was playing. Luke played saxophone and flute and he had drums and organ and I think he had a guitarist that came and sat-in. The organ player played like Jimmy Smith. Back then, everybody was trying to play like Jimmy Smith. I can't remember the drummer's name. I was too young to walk through the lounge so they would let me in the side door. I'd be there every week knocking on the side door trying to get in and learn something. So finally Luke Perry told the drummer, let me see what this little young drummer can do. "Let Youngblood play". So I set down and started swingin'.

"When I was a kid, I was like 17 and part of the Ray Charles band. At that time, I worked with this gentlemen and I had no clue to who Johnny Hartman was at my age. I was next door at Maverick's Flat (on Crenshaw Blvd) and they came over and said to me, Johnny Hartman's drummer didn't show up and he needs a drummer. Here I am, a little cocky teenager, 'cause we had our high school band and we were playing at Maverick's Flat and think we're 'all that!' So they came to get me. I said, I don't want to play with no Johnny Hartman, who is he? Real cocky - ain't been no where, ain't done nothin'. So I go over there and have my sticks in my hand and Johnny Hartman looked back at me and said, You've gotta have some brushes to play with me, baby. And I said, brushes? What's that? Then he said, you've got to go get yourself some brushes. But I managed to get through the night with my sticks. The next day, I went to Grants Music Store and got me some brushes. Grant's was located on Pico Blvd. From that day to this, I've been playing brushes and listening all through school to other brush masters. I still study the art of brushes.

"It's not easy, but I've been playing for fifty years. I've learned how to be a drummer, accompanist extraordinaire (which is on my business card), mostly from working with vocalists. I've been sent home from a lot of gigs since I couldn't play the way they wanted me to play. I'm pretty sure that night if Johnny Hartman could have got a hold of somebody else who had some brushes, I wouldn't have been on that gig. But because I was on that gig, I learned how to use brushes.

"I've played with the Main Ingredient, Marlena Shaw, and won a Grammy for my work with Graham Central Station. Early on, I worked with piano player, Hank Jacobs. I don't know if you remember him. He had that record out 'So Far Away'. He was the competition to Billy Preston. Billy got the break and Hank didn't. I was fortunate enough to be able to play with both of them.

"I had a vibes player in one of my groups. His name was Sonny Pompey; excellent vibes player. He was another guy who introduced me to jazz. My bass player was Robert Flowers. I played on the TV show, 'Sanford & Sons' and I've worked with Quincy Jones.

"But it was Ray Charles who woke me up. The same group I was telling you about, the little Rock and Roll group that traveled to Europe. Well, Ray Charles managed us and we opened his shows. We were in Cherry Hill New Jersey at the Latin Casino. Ray's drummer got sick and he could not play. So who else was there and had been seeing the show every night?" (Manny pointed to himself)

"I just got thrown in. So here I am with my cymbals nine feet up in the air. I'm jumpin' up (being seen), crashing and 'bam-bam' with the cymbals and I jumped up one too many times. Ray turned around and said "Ah - ah - Wait a minute, Baby. Hold up, drummer." Then he had me come into his dressing room and by the time he took his shirt off he had said everything he had to say to me in that short period of time removing his shirt, and that was:

"Sonny boy, one day your name will be on the marquee. At that time, that's when you shoot your arrow. But until then, stay out the way. Ain't nobody here to see you." Ray Charles counseled the young drummer.

"In this business," Manny continued, "when you feel that you can't learn no more, than you're stagnant. If you get to that point, you need to get out the business. I really kind of pride myself and slap myself on the back that I can call myself a drummer accompanist, because this is what I specialize in. That's what I do.

"My mentor is Harold Jones, who's currently with Tony Bennett. I listen to him to this very day. I grew up listening to Tootie Heath and Cozy Cole. These are the people I was listening to in high school. I was introduced to jazz at a very young age by my Uncle West.

"I played with Freddie Hubbard in 1977. His drummer, Carlos Vega, got sick and couldn't do the tour. I guess Freddie got my name from someone, called me and that was my first BeBop gig. In fact, that's where I learned to play Bebop

"I've worked with Carmen McCrae too. She had started getting ill in the late seventies. I worked with her at the Parisian room and we went to London and played at Ronnie Scotts. I played the Blue Note with her in New York. When we came back to LA I played with Carmen one more time, she was performing then in a wheel chair. If I can remember, we opened for George Benson at UCLA and that was the last time I worked with her. From that point on, it was nothing but jazz. Basically, after the Carmen McRae gig, I formulated my own group."

In 1986 Manny Kellough relocated from Los Angeles to Las Vegas where he currently continues his musical journey. In 1994 he was hired as part of the Brad Stevens trio, traveling once again on cruise ships from Vancouver to Alaska. Since then, he's made numerous trips to Alaska and to ports all over the world on cruise ship tours that keep jazz alive on the high seas. Today, he does that under the banner of The Manny Kellough Celebrity All Stars.

In 2007 Manny was awarded Best Traditional Jazz Drummer by the Black Music Awards Association of Las Vegas and his local jazz group, the Manny Kellough Trio, received the award for Best Traditional Jazz Trio."

"I can truly say, I have no regrets. I love the life that I have lived" Manny told me.

And the beat goes on!

Dee Dee McNeil
Dec 1, 2011

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