“All my life, I been a jazz, bebop drummer,” says 79-year-old Pigeon Town native Tony “Oulabula” Bazley in this week’s episode of OffBeat’s Look-Ka Py Py Podcast. Over the course of his six-and-a-half decade career, Bazley has manned the kit for jazz legends such as Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon and Wes Montgomery as well as several others. Like many of his era, Bazley road began at the famed Dew Drop Inn when, at the age of 14 and on the recommendation of Ornette Coleman drummer Ed Blackwell, Bazley joined the Johnson Brothers. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, Bazley joined the Air Force where he played USO clubs as a member of the branch’s Special Service Band. Upon discharge, Bazley attended the Los Angeles Conservatory on his G.I. Bill. While in the city, Bazley met a fledgling saxophonist who frequently collaborated with Ed Blackwell, Eric Dolphy. Following a single jam session, Dolphy brought Bazley into his band and took him under his wing. From there, Brazley’s life as a bebop drummer took shape, spanning continents and decades at the side of greats. For Bazley’s firsthand account of his remarkable tale, tune in below.

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