ABSTRACT
American jazz drummer, born Arthur James Singleton in Bunkie, Louisiana. He played with New Orleans bands as a youth, worked on riverboats and in St. Louis, then moved to Chicago. He became an innovative force in jazz through appearances and recordings with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five (1928), Jelly Roll Morton, and Barney Bigard (1929). His techniques included use of wire brushes, the sock cymbals (later to be the hi hat), ride patterns and offbeat bass accents. In the 1930s he worked with such artists as Sidney Bechet and Roy Eldridge; in the 1940s he recorded with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He remained active later in New York clubs. Singleton died in New York.
