Benjamin Drootin; Dixieland Drummer

Benjamin “Buzzy” Drootin, 80, a Dixieland drummer whose career included stints with Eddie Condon and Tommy Dorsey. Born near Kiev, Russia, Drootin came to the United States at age 5 and grew up in the Boston area. His father and two brothers were musicians, and Drootin joined them as a teenager, learning to play the drums. He toured with Ina Ray Hutton’s All Boys Band in 1940 and worked with traditional jazz players such as Jess Stacy and Buck Clayton. He was the house drummer at Condon’s club in New York from 1947 to 1951 and made recordings with Condon. He also recorded with Dorsey, Bobby Hackett and the Dukes of Dixieland. After leading a group in the early 1970s, Drootin moved back to Boston and played in a band led by his clarinet-playing brother Al. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Drootin appeared frequently around the country at classic jazz events, including the Los Angeles Classic Jazz Festival in 1984. On May 21 of cancer at a nursing home in Englewood, N.J.