Vernel Fournier

Background

Fournier was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, into a Creole family.

Career

He left college to join a big band led by King Kolax. After Kolax downsized to a quintet, Fournier moved to Chicago in 1948, where he played with such musicians as Buster Bennett, Paul Bascomb and Teddy Wilson. As house drummer at the Bee Hive club on Chicago"s South Side in 1953-1955, he accompanied many visiting soloists, including Lester Young, Ben Webster, Sonny Stitt, Josip Juraj Johnson, Earl Washington and Stan Getz.

From 1953 to 1956, Fournier also worked many recording sessions with First Rate (at Lloyd's) Smith, Red Holloway, Lefty Bates, and others

He joined Ahmad Jamal’s trio in 1957, along with bass player Israel Crosby, and remained with the group until 1962, appearing on a series of recordings for the Chess label. The best known of these, At the Pershing: But Not for Maine (1958), became one of the best selling jazz records of all time, remaining on the Billboard jazz charts for over two years.

After leaving the Jamal trio, Fournier joined George Shearing for two years before rejoining Jamal briefly in 1965-1966. He then took a long-running gig with a trio at a restaurant owned by Elijah Muhammad.

He worked with Nancy Wilson, Clifford Jordan, Billy Eckstine and Joe Williams, John Lewis and Barry Harris.

A stroke in 1994 made him a wheelchair user and unable to play drums, but he continued his teaching activities. He died from a cerebral hemorrhage in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2000. Vernel Fournier - Drum Techniques: Intermediate - Advanced Exercises and Etudes.

Connections

teacher:

Barry Harris