Harold "Doc" West was an American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 drummer.

West learned to play piano and cello as a child before switching to drums. In the 1930s he played in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 with Tiny Parham

Tiny Parham

Hartzell Strathdene "Tiny" Parham was a Canadian-born American jazz bandleader and pianist of African-American descent....

, Erskine Tate

Erskine Tate

Erskine Tate was an American jazz violinist and bandleader.Tate moved to Chicago in 1912 and was an early figure on the Chicago jazz scene, playing with his band, the Vendome Orchestra, at the Vendome Theater, which was located at 31st and State Street...

, and Roy Eldridge

Roy Eldridge

Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...

 (1937-38). Late in the 1930s he filled in for Chick Webb

Chick Webb

William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb was an American jazz and swing music drummer as well as a band leader.-Biography:...

 when Webb was unable to lead his own orchestra. Early in the 1940s he played with Hot Lips Page, and played on the early bebop

Bebop

Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...

 scene at Minton's Playhouse

Minton's Playhouse

Minton’s Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem. Minton’s was founded by tenor saxophonist Henry Minton in 1938...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 with Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...

, Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....

, Tiny Grimes

Tiny Grimes

Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He was a member of the Art Tatum Trio from 1943 to 1944, was a backing musician on recording sessions, and later led his own bands, including a recording session with Charlie Parker...

, and Don Byas

Don Byas

Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, long-resident in Europe.- Oklahoma and Los Angeles :...

. He played with Oscar Pettiford

Oscar Pettiford

Oscar Pettiford was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop.-Biography:...

 in 1944 and stood in for Jo Jones

Jo Jones

Jo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...

 occasionally in Count Basie

Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...

's orchestra.

West appears on recordings from Slam Stewart

Slam Stewart

Leroy Eliot "Slam" Stewart was an African American jazz bass player whose trademark style was his ability to bow the bass and simultaneously hum or sing an octave higher. He was originally a violin player before switching to bass at the age of 20.-Biography:Stewart was born in Englewood, New...

, Leo Watson

Leo Watson

Leo Watson was an American jazz vocalese singer, drummer, trombonist and tiple player born in Kansas City, Missouri, perhaps best known as a band member of The Spirits of Rhythm which included guitarist Teddy Bunn...

, Wardell Gray

Wardell Gray

Wardell Gray was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods.Today often overlooked, Gray's playing displays a unique style, an unmatched tone and a strong presence.-Early years:...

, Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...

, Erroll Garner

Erroll Garner

Erroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard...

, Big Joe Turner

Big Joe Turner

Big Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...

, and Jay McShann

Jay McShann

Jay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....

. He died in 1951 while on tour with Roy Eldridge.