Percy Brice

Austin Percy Brice, Jr., nicknamed "Big P" (born March 25, 1923, New York City) is an American jazz drummer.

Brice's professional career began around the end of World War II, when he played with Benny Carter, Mercer Ellington, Luis Russell, and Eddie Cleanhead Vinson. He played frequently in Harlem in the early 1950s with Tiny Grimes, Oscar Pettiford, Tab Smith, Lucky Thompson, and Cootie Williams, in addition to leading sessions at Minton's Playhouse. He then played with Billy Taylor (1954-1956), George Shearing (1956-1958), and Kenny Burrell (1958–59); from 1959 to 1961 he played behind Sarah Vaughan on tour.

Brice was Harry Belafonte's drummer for most of the 1960s; he also worked with Ahmad Jamal and Carmen McRae in that decade. He led a group called the New Sounds in the early 1970s, and worked with Sy Oliver and Illinois Jacquet, as well as in Broadway orchestras, later in his career.

References

• Rick Mattingly, "Percy Brice". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.