Buster Harding

Lavere "Buster" Harding (March 19, 1912 – November 14, 1965) was a Canadian-born American jazz pianist, composer and arranger.

Biography
Born to Benjamin "Ben" and Ada (née Shreve) Harding in North Buxton, Ontario. Harding was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where as a teenager he started on his own band.

In 1939 he went to work for the Teddy Wilson big band, and then in the early 1940s went to work for the Coleman Hawkins band, and then Cab Calloway. He became a freelance arranger and worked with Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie, among others.

In 1949 he was the musical director for Billie Holiday recording sessions. In the early 1960s Harding played with Jonah Jones, though he was known primarily as an arranger and composer.

Select discography
With Billie Holiday
 * Broadcast Performances, Vol. 1: Radio And TV Broadcasts (1949-52) (ESP Disk)
 * Broadcast Performances, Vol. 2: Radio And TV Broadcasts (1953-56) (ESP Disk)

With Roy Eldridge
 * All the Cats Join In (MCA Records)

With Count Basie
 * The Story of Jazz (Philips Records)
 * Basie Ball (Philips Records)
 * Sounds of Jazz (Fontana Records)
 * One O'Clock Jump (Columbia Records)

With Dizzy Gillespie
 * The Big Band Sound of Dizzy Gillespie (Verve Records)
 * Dizzy Gillespie: Best of Small Groups (Verve Records)
 * Dizzy and Strings (Norgan Records, 1954) also released as Diz Big Band (Verve Records)
 * Jazz Spectrum Vol. 11: Dizzy Gillespie (Metro Records)