(Tadley Ewing), African-American JAZZ pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer; b. Cleveland, Feb. 21, 1917; d. N.Y., Mar. 8, 1965. Dameron was inspired to follow a career as a jazz musician by his brother Caesar, a saxophone player. He subsequently played piano with the touring bands of Freddie Webster, Zack White, and Blanche Calloway.

Damerons break came in 1939 when he joined the progressive Kansas City band the Rockets. His compositions Dameron Stomp and A La Bridges (written for band member Hank Bridges) forecast the BEBOP style. In the 1940s and 1950s Dameron moved to N.Y., where he played informally with many of the founders of bebop, including DIZZY GILLESPIE, MILES DAVIS, and CLIFFORD BROWN.

Dameron was in demand as an accomplished composer and arranger, working in Chicago and N.Y. through the 1950s and early 1960s. His career was plagued by his addiction to narcotics, however, as a result of which he served time in federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky, from 1958 to 1960. His death in 1965 was as a result of drug abuse.