Leeman, Cliff(ord; aka Mr. Time, the Sheriff)

Leeman, Cliff(ord; aka Mr. Time, the Sheriff), big-band jazz drummer; b. Portland, Maine, Sept. 10, 1913; d. April 26, 1986. He played in local bands during his early teens, and also played percussion with the Portland Sym. His first professional work was as a xylophonist on a variety tour, but he returned to Portland to finish high school. After working with two Boston-based bands in the mid-1930s, he joined Artie Shaw, staying with him for about a year a half (April 1937-late 1938, except for a brief absence in summer 1938 due to illness). After a month-long stint with Glenn Miller (April 1939), Leeman worked with Tommy Dorsey from May until November 1939 before joining Charlie Barnet, with whom he remained until early 1943. He worked briefly in Chicago with Johnny Long’s Band (spring 1943), then joined Woody Herman. Early in 1944, he spent a few months in the Army, and then returned to N.Y., working with various bands, on radio, and leading his own band through 1950 (except for a period during 1946 where he returned to his native Portland). He did regular studio work throughout the 1950s, played occasional dates with Billy Butterfield, and also played regularly at Nick’s and Condon’s with various leaders. Through the 1960s, he worked with various jazz revivalists, including Bob Crosby, Wild Bill Davison, Yank Lawson, Dukes of Dixieland, and in a group accompanying vocalist Dick Haymes (1963). He toured Japan, Australia, and New Zealand with Eddie Condon (spring 1964); on his return to N.Y. that summer, he began two years mainly with Peanuts Hucko. In 1969, he toured for a while with George Wein’s Newport All Stars, then in late 1969 worked in N.Y. with Joe Venuti. He toured Europe with Kings of Jazz (1974), and with Wild Bill Davison (1976), and played a stint with the World’s Greatest Jazz Band (1976–77). He continued to work through the 1970s nearly to the time of his death.

—John Chilton, Who‘s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter