Career
In 1946, he played several times with artists at Jazz at the Philharmonic. Drayton"s performances — including the known fifty-two jazz recording sessions from 1938 to 1953 — with artists at the vanguard of bebop during the height of its development, placed him in the flow of many historic settings in jazz that marked the careers of musicians. In one such setting, Drayton was the bassist for Ben Webster"s first recording session — February 8, 1944, World Broadcasting Systems, New York City — with Hot Lips Page (trumpet), Clyde Hart (piano), Denzil Best (drums).
That session has been released multiple times.
A 1993 release on Civil Defense is titled The Horn, by Progressive Records (Online Computer Library Center 53833333). Charlie Drayton"s son, Bernard "Bernie" Drayton, was a prolific studio audio engineer, and producer of recording artists and jingles.
He widely known by fans of John Coltrane as the audio engineer for Coltrane"s last recording, The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording.
