Danny Richmond

Charles Daniel Richmond (December 15, 1931 – March 15, 1988) was an American jazz drummer who is best known for his work with Charles Mingus. He also worked with Joe Cocker, Elton John and Mark-Almond.Richmond was born in New York City and started playing tenor saxophone at the age of thirteen; he went on to play R&B with the Paul Williams band in 1955.

His career took off when he took up the drums, in his early twenties, through the formation of what was to be a 21-year association with Charles Mingus. Mingus biographer Brian Priestley writes that "Dannie became Mingus's equivalent to Harry Carney in the Ellington band, an indispensable ingredient of 'the Mingus sound' and a close friend as well".That association continued after Mingus' death when Richmond became the first musical director of the group Mingus Dynasty in 1980.   Wikipedia