By Adam Bernstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 10, 2008

Bobby Durham, 71, a jazz drummer of impeccable taste and versatility who teamed with Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald and became a fixture of the Jazz at the Philharmonic touring concert series, died July 7 at a hospital in Genoa, Italy. He had lung cancer and emphysema.

His death was confirmed by Sandra Fuller, a family friend.

Mr. Durham's personality on drums ranged from exuberant to unobtrusive. John S. Wilson, the late New York Times jazz critic, noted his "remarkable displays of technical virtuosity" in a 1968 concert with Peterson, a pianist known for his understated swing.

Norman Granz, the impresario behind Jazz at the Philharmonic, became an admirer of Mr. Durham's skills and used him frequently as a supporting studio and stage musician for a wide variety of star performers from the 1960s to the '80s.

In the 1970s, he also spent several years in small groups fronted by singer Fitzgerald and pianists Monty Alexander and Tommy Flanagan as well as one led by trombonist Al Grey and saxophonist Jimmy Forrest.

Robert Joseph Durham was born Feb. 3, 1937, in Philadelphia, the son of tap dancers.

He learned trombone, bass and vibraphone before concentrating on a drumming career in rhythm and blues groups after Marine Corps service in the late 1950s. In later years, he developed a talent for improvised singing known as scat.

After settling in New York in 1960, he accompanied jazz, R&B and soul entertainers, including Marvin Gaye and James Brown. In 1967, he began working in Duke Ellington's band but quickly become an integral part of Peterson's trio.

Starting in the 1980s, Mr. Durham began an active freelance career and performed with organist Shirley Scott, among other jazz stars. He also reunited with Peterson in the late 1980s, playing in a trio with the pianist and bassist Ray Brown that received high praise.

Jazz critic Don Heckman wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the group acquitted itself "with the precision of a fine-tooled Swiss watch."

Mr. Durham, a small man fond of kufi caps, made many trips to Europe leading trios and recording several albums for an independent Italian music label, Azzurra. He spent the final years of his life between homes in Basel, Switzerland, and Isola del Cantone, near Genoa.

The music reference Web site AllMusic.com wrote that one of his greatest successes with audiences was a piece he called "Airplane Song" based on the safety instructions handed out to passengers.

His wife, Betsy Perkins Durham, died in 1996. Two children preceded him in death.

Survivors include two daughters and four grandchildren.