Stan Levey
Adolph Stanley Levey known professionally as Stan Levey (April 5, 1926 – April 19, 2005) was an American jazz drummer. He was known for working with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the early development of bebop during the 1940s, and in the next decade had a stint with bandleader Stan Kenton. Levey retired from music in the 1970s to work as a photographer.
Also recorded as Adolph Stanley Levey
Stan Levey

Downbeat Magazine · Public domain
- Name
- Stan Levey
- Birth Name
- Adolph Stanley Levey
- Born
- 5 April 1926
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
- Died
- 19 April 2005
- Place of death
- Van Nuys, California United States
- Occupation
- Musician, composer
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Adolph Stanley Levey known professionally as Stan Levey (April 5, 1926 – April 19, 2005) was an American jazz drummer. He was known for working with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the early development of bebop during the 1940s, and in the next decade had a stint with bandleader Stan Kenton. Levey retired from music in the 1970s to work as a photographer.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Stan Levey. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q323544 · wikipedia · Stan Levey
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Stan Levey • Birth Name — Adolph Stanley Levey • Born — 5 April 1926 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States • Died — 19 April 2005 • Place of death — Van Nuys, California United States • Genre — Jazz, bebop • Occupation — Musician, composer • Instrument — Drums • Years Active — 1942–1973 • Label — Bethlehem, Mode, Liberty Records
Biography
Biography
He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Levey is considered one of the earliest bebop drummers, and one of the very few white drummers involved in the formative years of bebop. He played in Philadelphia with Dizzy Gillespie's group in 1942, at the age of 16. Soon after, he went to New York City, where he and Gillespie worked on 52nd Street with Charlie Parker and Oscar Pettiford. After his tenure with the Stan Kenton Orchestra he moved to the West Coast in 1954, joining Howard Rumsey, Don Joham and the Lighthouse All-Stars, and was a major influence in West Coast jazz. Though "cool" jazz was common on the West Coast, Levey's crisp, melodic style continued to have more in common with bop than cool, and he inspired every group he ever played in. A right-handed person, Levey played the drums as if left-handed, orienting his drum kit as 'mirror-image' to the standard setup. Levey played on thousands of recordings, including those with musicians Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and with bands such as that of Quincy Jones, and Skitch Henderson and The Tonight Show Band. Levey retired from the music business in 1973 to become a professional photographer. He died at age 79, two months after surgery for cancer of the jaw, in Van Nuys, California. He was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Identity
Identity
Stan Levey is recorded with the occupation jazz musician. Classed in the genre jazz. Recorded as photographer, composer and musician.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1926
Stan Levey was born on 5 April 1926.
2005
Stan Levey died on 19 April 2005.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Philadelphia.
Birth place
Van Nuys.
Death place
Discography
With Chet Baker and Art Pepper • The Route (Pacific Jazz, 1956) With The Beach Boys • Sunflower (Reprise, 1970) With Buddy Bregman • Swinging Kicks (Verve, 1957) With Conte Candoli • Conte Candoli Quartet (Mode, 1957) • Little Band Big Jazz (Crown, 1960) With Billy Eckstine • The Modern Sound of Mr. B (Mercury, 1964) With Victor Feldman • Vic Feldman on Vibes (Mode, 1957) • The Arrival of Victor Feldman (Contemporary, 1958) • Latinsville! (Contemporary, 1960) With Stan Getz • Stan Getz Quartets (Prestige, 1955) • The Steamer (Verve, 1956) • Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz (Verve, 1957) with Gerry Mulligan With Dizzy Gillespie • For Musicians Only (Verve, 1956) With Jimmy Giuffre • The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet (Atlantic, 1956) • Herb Ellis Meets Jimmy Giuffre (Verve, 1959) with Herb Ellis With Johnny Hartman • Unforgettable Songs by Johnny Hartman (ABC, 1966) With Stan Kenton • Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton (Capitol, 1953) • New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (Capitol, 1953) • Sketches on Standards (Capitol, 1953) • This Modern World (Capitol, 1953) • Portraits on Standards (Capitol, 1953) • Kenton Showcase (Capitol, 1954) With Lee Konitz • Lee Konitz Plays (Disques Vogue, 1953) With Peggy Lee • Christmas Carousel (Capitol, 1960) • Pretty Eyes (Capitol, 1960) • Blues Cross Country (Capitol, 1962) • Mink Jazz (Capitol, 1963) • I'm a Woman (Capitol, 1963) • In Love Again! (Capitol, 1964) • In the Name of Love (Capitol, 1964) • Big $pender (Capitol, 1966) With Oscar Peterson • Soft Sands (Polygram, 1957) With Warne Marsh • Music for Prancing (Mode, 1957) With The Monkees • The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees (Colgems, 1968) With Herb Ellis • Nothing But the Blues (Verve, 1958) With Red Mitchell • West Coast Rhythm (Affinity, recorded 1954–1955, released 1982) With Mark Murphy • Mark Murphy's Hip Parade (Capitol, 1959) With Shorty Rogers • Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers (RCA Victor, 1957) • Portrait of Shorty (RCA Victor, 1957) With Sonny Stitt • Previously Unreleased Recordings (Verve, 1973)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Stan Levey”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q323544: Stan Levey
General reference · Wikidata
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Photography
11,392 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Staffan WidstrandPhotographer
- Stalic KhankishievPhotographer
- Stan DouglasPhotographer
- Stan GrossfeldPhotographer
- Stan MalinowskiPhotographer
- Stan MusilekPhotographer
- Stan ShafferPhotographer
- Stan StearnsPhotographer
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Stan Levey?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.