Sheldon "Shelly" Manne was born on June 11, 1920, and passed away on September 26, 1984. He was an American jazz drummer who is most closely linked to West Coast jazz. He was able to play many different styles of music, such as Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz, and fusion. In addition, he helped create the music for hundreds of movies and TV shows.

Family and origins

Sheldon "Shelly" Manne was born on June 11, 1920, in Manhattan, New York City, New York. His father, Max Manne, and his uncles were drummers. As a young person, Shelly admired many famous swing drummers, including Jo Jones and Dave Tough. Billy Gladstone, a friend of Shelly’s father and a respected percussionist in New York’s theater scene, gave Shelly advice and encouragement when he was a teenager.

From that time, Shelly quickly developed his musical style in the clubs on 52nd Street in New York during the late 1930s and 1940s. His first job with a well-known big band was with the Bobby Byrne Orchestra in 1940. During those years, he recorded music with famous jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Shavers, and Don Byas. He also worked with musicians connected to Duke Ellington, including Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown, and Rex Stewart.

In 1942, during World War II, Shelly joined the Coast Guard and served until 1945.

In 1943, Shelly married Florence Butterfield, a Rockette who was known as "Flip" by family and friends. Their marriage lasted 41 years, until Shelly’s death.

When the bebop movement began changing jazz in the 1940s, Shelly embraced it and quickly adapted to the new style. He performed with musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Around this time, he also worked with rising stars such as Flip Phillips, Charlie Ventura, Lennie Tristano, and Lee Konitz.

Shelly became famous when he joined the bands of Woody Herman and, especially, Stan Kenton in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During this time, he won awards and gained a following as jazz was the most popular music in the United States. Being part of Woody Herman’s band allowed Shelly to play the bebop style he loved. Stan Kenton’s band, which was known for its "progressive jazz," had more complex and challenging arrangements that made it harder to play. However, Shelly appreciated the musical freedom Kenton offered and saw it as a chance to experiment. He met these challenges by exploring new sounds and rhythms, improving his ability to support music in different situations.

In California

In the early 1950s, Manne moved to live on a ranch in a rural area of Los Angeles. There, he and his wife raised horses. From this time, he became an important part of the West Coast school of jazz. He performed with many musicians on the Los Angeles jazz scene, including Shorty Rogers, Hampton Hawes, Red Mitchell, Art Pepper, Russ Freeman, Frank Rosolino, Chet Baker, Leroy Vinnegar, Pete Jolly, Howard McGhee, Bob Gordon, Conte Candoli, Sonny Criss, and others. Many of his recordings from this time were made for Lester Koenig’s Contemporary Records. For a period, Manne had a contract with this label as an "exclusive" artist, meaning he needed permission to record music for other companies.

Manne led several small musical groups that recorded under his name. One group included Manne on drums, trumpeter Joe Gordon, saxophonist Richie Kamuca, bassist Monty Budwig, and pianist Victor Feldman. This group performed for three days in 1959 at the Black Hawk club in San Francisco. Their music was recorded during the performances, and four albums were released. These recordings were highly praised for being an innovative example of a "live" jazz performance. Years later, the Black Hawk sessions were reissued on CD in an expanded version.

West Coast jazz

Manne is often linked to the West Coast school of jazz, a style that was once heavily criticized. He was seen as a key drummer in this movement, though he preferred not to be limited to that label. In the 1950s, much of his music followed the West Coast style, which focused on carefully arranged, cool-sounding compositions. His 1953 album, The West Coast Sound, included original pieces he commissioned. Some West Coast jazz was experimental and avant-garde, similar to the later work of musicians like Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman. Manne performed with Coleman in 1959, and his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre also included experimental music. Critics often criticized this type of music for being too intellectual.

Another part of West Coast jazz was lighter, more accessible music meant for popular audiences. Manne contributed to this style as well. His most famous work in this area was a series of albums recorded with pianist André Previn and his groups, featuring music from Broadway shows, movies, and television. The first and most successful of these was the My Fair Lady album, released in 1956. These recordings, made for the Contemporary label, focused on one musical per album and aimed to appeal to a wide audience. However, some jazz fans who preferred more serious music did not always appreciate this style, which may explain why Manne is often overlooked in discussions about important jazz drummers.

Robert Gordon admits that much of the West Coast jazz from that time was imitative and lacked the energy of great jazz performances. However, he notes that Manne’s work with Previn and bassist Leroy Vinnegar (and later Red Mitchell) showed musical sophistication, intensity, and a strong sense of rhythm, which was missing in many other similar recordings.

West Coast jazz was only one part of Manne’s career. He recorded in Los Angeles and sometimes in New York and other places, working with musicians from various styles, including swing, bebop, and hard bop. Hard bop is often seen as the opposite of the cool jazz typically connected to West Coast jazz.

Collaborations

Starting in the 1940s with 78-rpm recordings and moving to LPs in the 1950s and beyond, Manne created a very large number of recordings, many of which are difficult to track completely. According to jazz writer Leonard Feather, Manne played on more than a thousand LPs by 1960, even though he had only completed about half of his 45-year career at that time.

Manne performed with many famous musicians, including Benny Carter, Earl Hines, Clifford Brown, Zoot Sims, Ben Webster, Maynard Ferguson, Wardell Gray, Lionel Hampton, Junior Mance, Jimmy Giuffre, and Stan Getz. In the 1950s, he recorded two albums with Sonny Rollins, one of which, Way Out West (1957), was widely praised and showed that West Coast jazz could be similar to East Coast jazz. In the 1960s, he also recorded two albums with Bill Evans. Around 1959, he played with Benny Goodman and Ornette Coleman, two musicians with very different styles, showing his ability to adapt.

One of Manne’s most unusual projects in the 1960s was a collaboration with guitarist Jack Marshall, who wrote music for The Munsters TV show. Two albums, Sounds Unheard Of! (1962) and Sounds! (1966), feature Marshall on guitar and Manne playing drums and unusual percussion instruments, such as Hawaiian bamboo sticks, a Chinese gong, castanets, and a small instrument called a piccolo Boo-Bam.

Manne also worked with guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Ray Brown in a trio called "The Poll Winners." These musicians had won many awards from popular magazines of the time, though the awards are no longer remembered. Their recordings, however, are still available today on CD. Manne also played in different styles, including Dixieland, fusion, and "Third Stream" music. He helped revive ragtime, a type of music that came before jazz, and sometimes played with musicians known for European classical music. Despite exploring many styles, he always returned to playing straight-ahead jazz, which he loved most.

Style and influences

Shelly Manne respected and learned from other drummers of his time, including Dave Tough, Jo Jones, Max Roach, and Kenny Clarke. He also studied the techniques of younger drummers such as Elvin Jones and Tony Williams. Whether he was aware of it or not, he took small ideas from each of them, always trying to improve his playing and explore new ways to express himself through music.

Although he was influenced by many musicians, Manne’s drumming style remained uniquely his own. His playing was personal, precise, and clear, while also being complex and rich in musical expression. He was open to trying new musical ideas, such as those explored by musicians like Jimmy Giuffre and Teddy Charles in the 1950s. However, he never let his playing become overly complicated or disconnected from the basic rhythm that is essential to jazz.

No matter the type of music he played—whether Dixieland, bebop, or experimental jazz, in large ensembles or small groups—Manne’s goal was to make the music feel lively and rhythmic. He listened carefully to the other musicians, paying close attention to their needs and the details of the music. His aim was to help the entire group sound better, rather than drawing too much attention to himself with long or forceful solos.

Manne avoided a style that was overly loud or dominant. Instead, his quiet and thoughtful drumming was valued for its strength and musicality. In 1957, critic Nat Hentoff praised Manne as one of the most "musical" and "imaginative" drummers. Bob Cooper, a musician and composer, called Manne "the most imaginative drummer I’ve worked with." Later in his career, many respected jazz musicians, including Louie Bellson, John Lewis, Ray Brown, Harry "Sweets" Edison, and others, also praised his abilities. Benny Carter, a composer and bandleader, said Manne was "a great admirer of his work" and noted that Manne could play any kind of music and achieve any desired sound.

Although Manne always emphasized the importance of rhythm and "swing," his approach to drumming focused on melodies. He explained that while Max Roach created melodies from rhythms, he created rhythms by thinking about melodies first.

Manne had strong preferences for the drums he used. These preferences changed over time. He started with Gretsch drums. In 1957, he became interested in a type of drum made by Leedy (then owned by Slingerland) and had a special set made for himself, which later became popular with other drummers. In the 1970s, after trying many other options, he chose Japanese-made Pearl Drums, which he found to be the best fit for his needs.

Singers

Manne was also praised by singers. Jackie Cain, part of the singing duo Jackie and Roy (Roy Kral), said she had "never heard a drummer play so beautifully behind a singer." Jackie and Roy were two of many singers Manne played with. He recorded several albums with them, as well as with June Christy and Helen Humes, who was originally famous for singing with the Count Basie orchestra.

Over many years, Manne recorded more albums or played drums in sessions with well-known vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Ernestine Anderson, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, Blossom Dearie, and Nancy Wilson. Not all the singers Manne accompanied were mainly jazz musicians. Artists from different backgrounds, including Teresa Brewer, Leontyne Price, Tom Waits, and Barry Manilow, included Manne in their recording sessions.

Film and television

At first, jazz music in movies was only used when a jazz band was part of the story. Early in his career, Manne sometimes appeared in films, such as the 1942 movie Seven Days Leave, where he played drums for the popular Les Brown orchestra, later called "Les Brown and His Band of Renown."

In the 1950s, jazz began to be used more widely in film soundtracks, and Manne helped lead these changes. His work started with the 1953 film The Wild One. As jazz became an important part of movie music, Manne became a key drummer and percussionist in film scores. One early example was the 1955 film The Man with the Golden Arm, where Manne played drums throughout the movie. He also helped the director and taught the actor Frank Sinatra. The Decca soundtrack LP listed him for the "Drumming Sequences."

As jazz grew more important in films, Manne became the most trusted drummer in the industry. He even had small acting roles in some movies. A major example was Johnny Mandel’s jazz score for I Want to Live! in 1958.

Later, Manne worked on film music by mixing jazz, pop, and classical styles. Henry Mancini often used Manne’s skills because they shared a love for creating unique drum sounds. Mancini relied on Manne to design special drum effects in his music. Films like Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Hatari! (1962), and The Pink Panther (1963) feature Manne’s drumming and effects.

Manne also worked with Mancini on television shows, such as Peter Gunn (1958–1961) and Mr. Lucky (1959–1960). Even though Mancini used Manne for most of his scores, Manne still played on other projects, including the TV series Richard Diamond (music by Pete Rugolo, 1959–1960) and Checkmate (music by John Williams, 1959–1962), as well as the film version of West Side Story (1961).

In the late 1950s, Manne began writing his own film scores, such as The Proper Time (1959), which was performed by his group, Shelly Manne and His Men, and released on a Contemporary LP. Later, Manne played drums, added special drum effects, and sometimes wrote complete scores for films and TV shows. He also created music for a recording of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham (1960) and worked on animated cartoons. For example, he joined other jazz musicians like Ray Brown and Jimmy Rowles to perform Doug Goodwin’s music for the cartoon series The Ant and the Aardvark (1969–1971). Later, Manne wrote and performed scores for films like Young Billy Young (1969) and Trader Horn (1973), and for the TV show Daktari (1966–1969). Through these and other projects, Manne’s drumming became an important part of popular culture for many years.

Shelly's Manne-Hole

Manne was a co-owner of the Los Angeles nightclub Shelly's Manne-Hole, which was located at 1608 North Cahuenga Boulevard from 1960 to 1972. The club later moved to a second location at Tetou's restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard, where it remained until it closed in 1973. The main band at the nightclub was Shelly Manne and His Men, which included some of Manne's favorite musicians, such as Russ Freeman, Monty Budwig, Richie Kamuca, Conte Candoli, and later Frank Strozier, John Morell, and Mike Wofford, among other well-known West Coast jazz musicians. Other jazz artists from different times and places also performed at the club, including Ben Webster, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, Thelonious Monk, Michel Legrand, Carmen McRae, Milt Jackson, Teddy Edwards, Monty Alexander, Lenny Breau, and Miles Davis. Many live albums were recorded at the club, including Live! Shelly Manne & His Men at the Manne-Hole (1961), Bill Evans's At Shelly's Manne-Hole (1963), Cannonball Adderley's Cannonball Adderley Live! (1964), Les McCann's Live at Shelly's Manne-Hole (1965), and Keith Jarrett's Somewhere Before (1969).

In late 1973, Manne had to close the club because of financial problems. Stan Getz was the final artist to perform there, at the club's second location shortly after it opened.

Later career

After Shelly's Manne-Hole closed, Manne focused his attention on his drumming. It could be said that he played with the best style, elegance, and smooth rhythm during the 1970s, when he recorded many albums with musicians such as trumpeter Red Rodney, pianist Hank Jones, saxophonists Art Pepper and Lew Tabackin, and composer-arranger-saxophonist Oliver Nelson.

From 1974 to 1977, he joined guitarist Laurindo Almeida, saxophonist and flutist Bud Shank, and bassist Ray Brown to form the group The L.A. Four. This group recorded four albums before Manne left the ensemble.

In the 1980s, Manne recorded with musicians like trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, saxophonist Zoot Sims, guitarists Joe Pass and Herb Ellis, and pianist John Lewis, who was known for leading the Modern Jazz Quartet. At the same time, he continued to record with small groups of his own. One example of his work during this time was a live concert recorded in 1980 at the Los Angeles club "Carmelo's," where he played with pianists Bill Mays and Alan Broadbent and bassist Chuck Domanico. These performances, like the famous Black Hawk shows from earlier, showed the energy and creativity of the musicians and the connection between the performers and the audience. Although this part of his career was often ignored, Manne had improved greatly in his ability to support other musicians while still expressing his own musical ideas clearly.

Manne’s busy work in Hollywood studios sometimes took time away from his jazz performances. Even in less exciting films, he often turned ordinary tasks into artistic moments. However, his true passion was his work to advance jazz as an important American art form, a goal he pursued since his youth and continued until nearly the end of his life.

Manne passed away before the renewed interest in jazz became widely popular. However, in his final years, his contributions to the music began to receive more local recognition, and his influence on the culture of Los Angeles was acknowledged. Two weeks before his sudden death from a heart attack, the City of Los Angeles, along with the Hollywood Arts Council, honored him by declaring September 9, 1984, as "Shelly Manne Day."