SKF NOTE: One more Zildjian Famous Drummer Cymbal Set-Up. This time, Louie Bellson.

Bellson’s cymbal set-up shown here is circa 1980-81. That’s based on the dates of his three “current releases” mentioned in this handout:

Sunshine Rock (1978)
Louie Bellson Jam (1979)
Dynamite (1980)

Bellson had an amazingly distinguished career as a drummer, clinician, inventor, songwriter, arranger, educator. That he was the first drummer to use double-bass drums is up for debate. (Ed Shaughnessy is also said to have been first with double-bass drums.) But there is no disputing Bellson’s popularizing drummers using two bass drums.

Starting with Skin Deep (1953) and Concerto for Drums (1956), Bellson left drummers a number of “you gotta hear this” recordings.