Steve Maxwell Vintage and Custom Drums Historical Drum Sets

Buddy Rich?s last kit as a Slingerland endorser, and a kit used by Louie Bellson at a clinic.

Buddy was my all time favorite. There was no one like him before, and there never will be again. Hopefully, some of you had the chance to see him in person. I saw him many times, and there are no words that I can find to express the level of his talent. His recordings are incredible, but to see him in person was beyond belief. The Buddy Rich kit shown here was Buddy?s last kit as a Slingerland endorser. Buddy used this kit up until he made the transition over to Ludwig toward the end of his career. The kit is complete with 9x13, (2) 16x16, 14x24, canister throne, cymbal stands, L arms (including the Rogers L arm for the splash cymbal), high hat stand, snare drum stand, and the original Rogers swiv-o-matic foot pedal that Buddy used. The Fibes snare drum that Buddy used so often during this time was
not included with the set, and the cymbals shown here were not Buddy?s. I purchased this kit several years ago from Harry Cangany, noted vintage drum authority and author. This kit is shown in Harry?s excellent
book; The Great American Drums And The Companies That Made Them, 1920-1969. This same set is also shown in both the original and new edition of Rob Cook?s book; The Slingerland Book. In addition, Harry recently wrote an article about this kit for Modern Drummer magazine. (Harry, I owe you forever for this kit!)

Louie Bellson is a wonderful man and has had a phenomenal career. I have long been a fan of his amazing technique and musical ability. The Louie Bellson kit shown here is a kit that Louie used for a clinic in the very early 80s, but it is not a kit that he toured with. The kit is the exact configuration that Louie used in the late 70s before he migrated to Pearl. It is the ?Explosion? kit as shown in the 1979 Slingerland catalog. This kit is complete with 9x13, (2) 16c16, (2) 14x24 BDs, 12 lug chrome-over-wood Spitfire snare drum, 4 concert toms and all stands. Louie autographed all of the heads on this kit. The kit was stored from the time Louie used it until we purchased it a few months back. Louie has always been an inspiration to me, so I had not intended to sell this kit. However, a very good customer of ours who has always been an admirer of Louie?s fantastic abilities sincerely wanted the set so it now resides in his collection where it will be well cared for.

Ellis Tollin's WMP Rogers Drumset and Matching Wood Dynasonic
Ellis Tollin was a good friend who was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Rogers Dynasonic snare drum. After Ellis passed away we acquired his drum set from his widow Jeannette. Jeanette wanted Ellis's drums to be well cared for and we are honored to have them as a permanent part of our museum. Dick Cully, a wonderful drummer in the spirit of the great Buddy Rich, was very close to Ellis. Dick is a good friend of mine and he was very pleased when he learned that we acquired Ellis's drums. Ellis owned a drum shop back in the 60s, and all special orders for Rogers endorsers went through Ellis's shop. Also, Ellis was one of the first dealers to sponsor clinics. Dick told me that the set we acquired from Jeannette is the kit that was played on by Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and Louie Bellson when they performed clinics for Ellis. There is a tremendous history associated with these drums, and we're proud to have them in our collection.

?Mel Torme?s Gene Krupa Slingerland Radio King Kit?

This kit has a remarkable history. Mel was an excellent drummer as well as a world class vocalist, and he loved Gene Krupa and always wanted to own drums that belonged to Gene. Mel?s opportunity came in the 70s. Mel had learned that one of Gene?s kits was available, even though most of Gene?s drums had been lost in a fire. The kit was used by Gene circa 1938. Mel was fortunate enough to acquire this kit, and when he did so, he approached Don Osborne Sr., then President of Slingerland, with an idea. Mel wanted to use the kit in his nightly show, where he performed a tribute to Gene Krupa along with his drummer, Donny Osborne Jr. Mel wanted to use Gene?s kit, but the shells were badly discolored and he felt the kit didn?t look as good as it should. As a result, he asked Don Osborne Sr. if Slingerland would restore
the kit by using all of the hardware from Gene?s drums and mounting it on new Slingerland shells. Don agreed, and as a result, Mel used the kit nightly for more than 25 years and it was by far his favorite set. Mel discusses this kit in a 1976 interview with Les Tomkins in Great Britain. The text can be seen by going to the following link:
www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/Mel%20Torme_1.htm
You can also access Les?s site at www.jazzprofessional.com and I strongly encourage you to do so. He has a tremendous amount of information and interviews on dozens of jazz legends.

The drums and the throne are the originals from this kit. The cymbals and all other stands are not. The kit was acquired by me from Donny Osborne Jr. (Don Osborne?s son), who was Mel?s drummer for more than 25 years. Donny acquired the kit from Mel?s family after Mel passed away. The toms still have the original calf heads. The original ?GK? calf logo head is not present. Donny recalls that he would tune the kit for Mel each night, and that after awhile, the idea of tuning the bass drum with calf heads became too cumbersome, so the heads on this drum were switched out to plastic at some point and the GK logo was replicated exactly for the plastic heads. The original calf heads remain on the toms, and the snare drum has plastic heads.

Donny Osborne Jr was, and still is, a phenomenal player. At the early age of 15 Donny was performing clinics at Frank?s Drum Shop here in Chicago,
and he was the only drummer that Buddy ever let sit in with his band, all at a time when Donny was still in his teens. Donny and Buddy were close friends, and I?m happy to say that Donny and I are also close friends. His performance at Rob Cook?s Chicago Vintage Drum Show was over the top. For details on the 2005 Chicago Show go to Rob Cook?s website at www.rebeats.com for more information.

Sonny Greer?s Leedy kit:

This kit is an incredible rarity. It is Sonny Greer?s Leedy kit used by him with Duke Ellington. This kit was owned by a prominent collector and we recently brokered its sale. The kit is exquisite, and has a tremendous history. This kit was borrowed by the Smithsonian Institute and was displayed with other Ellington memorabilia for their Duke Ellington Centennial. When the Smithsonian picked up this kit from the former owner, they hand built enormous cases to protect this rarity. The wood case for the bass drum alone weighs 190lbs! The ?S/G? lettering is hand painted on each drum, and the ?/? between each letter is a contrasting pearl strip designed to resemble a drumstick. The original calf heads are on the bass drum and the photo here shows a close up of the historic ?DE? logo head filled with musical notes. Eventually, we will fit the rest of this kit with calf heads. We tuned the snare drum with the old plastic heads that were on it and it sounds incredible. We sold this kit to a very good friend and astute vintage drum collector who has graciously allowed us to display this historic kit in our shop. If you are in Chicago you should make it a point to stop in and see this set. This is truly a critically important piece of our drumming history.

Barrett Deems Gretsch Drum Set

This Gretsch kit belonged to my friend Barrett Deems. The sizes are 9x13, 16x16 and 14x20. This round badge Gretsch kit was given to Barrett by me in May of 1998, the year that he passed away. Barrett had always wanted a round badge Gretsch kit so I had this one recovered in his favorite color, White Marine Pearl, and I used his favorite Slingerland T rods and claws on the bass drum, along with solid maple hoops. Barrett was a phenomenal drummer and is most widely noted for the many years in which he played under Louis Armstrong. Barrett lead his own 18 piece big band here in Chicago for the last decade of his life and he was always extremely popular, drawing large crowds wherever he performed. His energy was endless. As Louis Armstrong said of Barrett: ?He makes coffee nervous?.




Rufus Jones Slingerland kit used with Duke Ellington:
We have acquired the Slingerland kit used by Rufus Jones during the latter part of his tenure with Duke Ellington. This kit is a beautiful Slingerland WMP set in his traditional set up which included two14x22 bass drums, two 9x13 toms, a 16x16 floor tom and his chrome over brass snare drum. All original stands are included as well as the road cases with ?Ellington? stickers from their tour. This is the same kit as seen in many photos of Rufus. Rufus was a phenomenally talented drummer with speed, grace, and a sense of touch that ran the spectrum from delicate to thunderous. I had the pleasure of seeing him live a few times with Ellington when I was much younger, and actually had the chance to walk up on stage and speak to him after Ellington had played a concert in a high school auditorium in my home state of Rhode Island. As I spoke to Rufus I watched him as he disassemble this very kit.

Ed Shaughnessy Ludwig Drum Kit:
We have just acquired a Ludwig kit belonging to Ed Shaughnessy. This kit is the current configuration Ed was using on the Tonight Show and in concerts and clinics. The kit includes all toms and bass drums, and also includes the keystone badge Supraphonic 400 that Ed was using with the set. All of Ed?s cymbals are included as well as all stands; personalized road cases; his personalized stick bag with sticks and brushes; canister throne; plus an autographed photo of Ed. Ed has been a big band mainstay for decades and still turns in remarkable performances at his clinics today.