Jazz Drummer Stan Levey, 79

Stan Levey, 79, an influential modern jazz drummer who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and other musical giants, died April 19 of cancer of the jaw at a hospital in Van Nuys, Calif.

A self-taught drummer, he was 16 when he first played with Gillespie in Mr. Levey's home town of Philadelphia in 1942. After moving to New York, he worked in a group with saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and pianist Thelonious Monk and was part of a band led by pianist George Shearing.

In the 1940s, Mr. Levey became part of what jazz critic Leonard Feather called "the first genuine all-be-bop group to play on 52nd Street," the famed street in New York lined with jazz clubs. The group included Gillespie, Parker, pianist Al Haig and bassist Curly Russell.

For two years, he was Parker's roommate, and he described their music and their problems with drugs in Ken Burns's 2001 documentary, "Jazz."

Mr. Levey also worked in the big bands of Woody Herman, Benny Goodman and Quincy Jones and achieved national renown during his two years with the Stan Kenton Orchestra.

After leaving Kenton in 1954, Mr. Levey settled in Los Angeles and began a steady five-year job with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. Mr. Levey became a major influence in what was called "West Coast jazz" or the "cool school" of modern jazz.

He performed on a worldwide tour with Ella Fitzgerald and often worked with singers Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee. As a studio musician, Mr. Levey performed on more than 2,000 recordings and played on the soundtracks of more than 300 movies and 3,000 TV show episodes. He also wrote music for a series of documentaries produced by Disney.

A DVD, "Stan Levey: The Original Original," in which he discusses his life in jazz, was released in February.

Mr. Levey was the son of a car dealer and boxing promoter. A promising heavyweight boxer in his youth, he fought at Madison Square Garden and continued to box into his twenties, when his music career was well established.

Retiring from music in 1973, he expanded his hobby of photography into a second career, working for magazines and major ad agencies.

Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Angela Levey of Los Angeles; three sons, Chris Levey of Easton, Md., David Levey of San Antonio and Robert Levey of Aspen, Colo.; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.