Person · Male

Panama Francis

US swing jazz drummer

From: Miami, United States
Active: 1918–2001
Releases: 3

jazz
swing

About

David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s.

From Panama Francis on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Member of

Ernest Hayes / Doc Bagby Quintet now
Charlie Shavers’ Sextet now drums (drum set)
Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans now eponymous

Discography

Albums 2

Tribute to Count Basie 1974
Midnight Slows, Vol 6 1977

Live 1

Jazz at Town Hall Year unknown

Collaboration

Bill Haley and His Comets 1954–1954

Also known as

David "Panama" Francis · David Albert Francis · David Francis

Identifiers

MusicBrainz: 6237bf7f-1ae9-4066-b52f-3c484813bccc
ISNI: 0000000368628761

Data from MusicBrainz, saved 13 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.