Ed Shaughnessy


Edwin Thomas Shaughnessy was a swing music and jazz drummer long associated with Doc Severinsen and a member of The Tonight Show Band on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Biography

Shaughnessy was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and grew up in the New York City area, working in the 1940s with George Shearing, Jack Teagarden, and Charlie Ventura. In the 1950s he worked in the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey bands. In the 1960s he played for Count Basie prior to joining The Tonight Show Band. He was the drummer on in 1962 which featured big band arrangements by Oliver Nelson, including the pop hit "Walk on the Wild Side" which peaked at #21 on the Billboard chart. Shaughnessy recorded extensively throughout his career and was known for his drum competitions with Buddy Rich.
Although best known as a big band drummer, Shaughnessy also performed small group work with Gene Ammons, Roy Eldridge, Billie Holiday, Mundell Lowe, Teo Macero, Charles Mingus, Shirley Scott, Jack Sheldon, Horace Silver, and many others. For several years Shaughnessy was a member of the house band at Birdland and other New York clubs. In the early 1970s he was doing similar work in Los Angeles and is credited with discovering Diane Schuur, whom he introduced at the 1976 Monterey Jazz Festival. Shaughnessy played in an early incarnation of the "Sesame Street" orchestra along with percussionist Danny Epstein, reed player Wally Kane, and, on occasion, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli.
He was an endorser of Ludwig drums, Sabian cymbals and Pro-Mark drumsticks.
Shaughnessy was married to Ilene Woods, the original voice of Cinderella, who died in 2010. He died of a heart attack in Calabasas, California at the age of 84. He was cremated. He was survived by his son Daniel, his stepdaughter Stephanie and grandchildren. His other son James preceded him in death from a car accident in 1984.

Discography

As sideman

With Trigger Alpert
With Gene Ammons
With Count Basie
With Bob Brookmeyer
With Gary Burton
With Teddy Charles
With Jimmy Forrest
  • Soul Street
With Dizzy Gillespie
  • Cornucopia
With Jimmy Giuffre
With Honi Gordon
  • Honi Gordon Sings
With Johnny Hodges
With Etta Jones
With Quincy Jones
  • Golden Boy
With Hubert Laws
  • Crying Song
With Mundell Lowe
  • The Mundell Lowe Quartet
  • Guitar Moods
  • New Music of Alec Wilder
  • Porgy & Bess
  • TV Action Jazz!
  • Themes from Mr. Lucky, the Untouchables and Other TV Action Jazz
  • Satan in High Heels
With Oliver Nelson
  • Impressions of Phaedra
  • Happenings with Hank Jones
With Joe Newman
  • Joe Newman with Woodwinds
  • Joe Newman Quintet at Count Basie's
With Lalo Schifrin
  • Between Broadway & Hollywood
With Shirley Scott
With Ed Summerlin
With Clark Terry
;With Cal Tjader
With Chuck Wayne