Sam Belton

Sam Belton (drummer) was born in Milwaukee on December 9, 1952, where his parents ran the Vine Street Tap at Fourth and Vine Streets. He began studying percussion in grade school and played in band and orchestra while attending Rufus King High School. After graduating, Sam traveled with R&B bands for about a year and a half before enrolling in the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music college program, where he studied with drummer Victor Soward and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra timpanist Tele Lesbines.

Buddy Montgomery hired Sam and his classmate, bassist Jeff Chambers, to perform a steady gig at the Bombay Bicycle Club at the Marc Plaza Hotel (now the Milwaukee Hilton City Center). They were often joined by Milwaukee percussionist Dumah Saafir, an important experience in Sam's musical development. Sam also worked with guitarist Manty Ellis, saxophonist Berkeley Fudge, guitarist Jack Grassel, and many others.

In 1976, Sam began working in the church, training and playing gospel music. He became an ordained elder in 1980. He returned to school in the early 1990s, attending Alverno College to earn his teaching certification, followed by over a decade of teaching in the Milwaukee Public Schools. Over the course of two decades, beginning in 1995, he traveled on mission trips to Africa, visiting Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa.

Sam also became involved in the coffee business, opening the first location of City Net Jazz Café in 2004 and later launching Abyssinia Coffee Roasters in 2015. In 2021, Sam and his wife, Lazonnie, opened Sam's Place Jazz Café, a hub for great food, coffee, community, and live jazz.

Sam continues to be an in-demand jazz drummer and a respected community leader.

Listen to Sam play drums at the 1978 Notre Dame Jazz Festival, alongside Brian Lynch (trumpet), Hary Kozlowski (trombone), Rolla Armstead (tenor sax), Charles Small (guitar), Marcus Robinson (piano), and Jeff Chambers (bass).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npX195fPv7A&t=1082s

More information can be found at: https://www.samsplacejazz.com/sams-story/