According to Louisbellson.info, Mr.Bellson was hospitalized after a hip breaking fall in November 2008. He was still in recovery when unexpectedly passing away on Feb 14 2009. He was 84 years old.
I had the pleasure of attending one of his concerts a few years back. It was stunning to see one of the founding fathers of swing doing his thing. The concert went a little like this:
a GREAT drummer left the stage… d.i.p (drum in peace)