Chiz Harris

American jazz drummer born in Shamokin, PA Harris was born Charles Harris in the coal-mining town of Shamokin, Pa., where he got his nickname because of a love of ice cream. "My mother would send me down to the store for a loaf of bread or some ham and tell me to have the storekeeper put it on the bill," he explained. "So I'd see the ice-cream man and get something and tell him to put it on the bill. Well, the bill got up to 50 cents or something, and that was big money in those days. So he went to my mom and told her, and she kind of laughed and said, 'You little chiseler.' And I've been Chiz to this day." That little chiseler began music lessons at the age of 8. He recalls listening as a teen-ager to radio broadcasts of J.C. Higgenbotham and Red Allen at 2 a.m. while hiding under the blankets in his bed. Gene Krupa was a major influence. "He was the drummer on the scene, the guy that opened the door for so many drummers and brought them to prominence. Also Louie Bellson and his two-bass (drum) thing with the Ellington band, that was a real innovation." Max Roach was another inspiration. While stationed at Sheepshead Bay during a stint in the merchant marine, Harris would travel to New York City and head for Birdland, the famed be-bop club. "I saw Bird (Charlie Parker) with Curly Russell, Dizzy (Gillespie) and Bud Powell. There was so much energy going on. Max was a big help. Watching him gave me the confidence that drummers could play solos within the structure of the music." Harris began working with big bands, and he appeared with some of the biggest names of the period: Ted Weems, Hal MacIntyre, Harry James and Si Zentner. After his stint with Les Brown, he became a Las Vegas fixture backing such singers as Vic Damone, Rosemary Clooney, Robert Goulet and Johnny Mathis. That's he keeping time behind Lou Rawls on the vocalist's first recording of "Tobacco Road." In addition, he pulled straight-ahead gigs with such musicians as Carl Fontana and Frank Rosolino. Over the years, he also worked and performed a lot with Frank (Giebels). In 1991 they even recorded an album together, called Science Friction. Chiz was also the one who took us to the latest, most influential music clubs, introduced us to his immense music network in and around LA, and to countless fellow musicians. His role in the realisation of The LA Project went far beyond the percussion parts he played so brilliantly. Chiz’s musicality, commitment, knowledge, network and hospitality were pivotal in starting our musical careers. In his final years, drumming became increasingly difficult, and Chiz and his wife retreated to a kind of resort for rich elderly people. Frank visited him there once, but as was to be expected of a lively and energetic person like Chiz, he hated it there. Chiz Harris died in 2005.