 Donnie Beck, an Omaha native, was born March 19, 1951, with twin brother Ronnie. At a young age, Donnie’s remarkable talent for music was apparent to his mother, Jeanne Rogers, and the rest of the family. For Donnie was blessed with the rare gift of perfect pitch. He was also endowed with the ability to master a variety of musical instruments--drums, bass, organ, and piano–as well as compose and arrange music.
By age 12, Donnie was playing the drums with his mother, a highly regarded jazz pianist and vocalist. A couple years later, he taught his twin brother how to play the drums and he himself began playing the bass guitar with Little Joe & The Impacts.
After mastering bass-guitar technique, Donnie took on the beast--the Hammond B3 organ. His conquering of that beast led to his forming the Don Rogers Trio, featuring Billy Rogers on guitar and his brother Ronnie on drums, with himself at the organ. From 1967-68 the trio was at the top of the Omaha jazz scene.
But the jazz scene in Omaha began to fade, and Donnie moved to California. There he joined the hit-making band of fellow native Omahan Buddy Miles. He recorded with that group the albums Booger Bear and Buddy Miles Live on the CBS label.
Soon after the B. Miles experience, Donnie became a first-call studio musician, in Los Angeles, for Wayne Henderson's At Home Production, Inc.
Donnie can be heard playing bass on the Ronnie Laws gold album Friends & Strangers. He recorded his first national release, B & G Rhythm, on the Polydor Records label, featuring him with Steve Gutierrez, the drummer from the R. Laws group. That recording indeed showcases Donnie’s talent as a bassist, keyboardist, vocalist, composer, and arranger.
For several years Donnie continued to do sessions with such notables as Willie Bobo, Pharaoh Sanders, Wayne Henderson, and Bobby Lyle, as well as others.
Donnie resides in Southern California with his lovely wife of more than 20 years, Elenna, and continues to perform, compose, and arrange marvelous music.
One of the truly great talents from Omaha is Donnie Beck.
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