Originally from Oak Park, IL, Francis Bassett-Dilley is a professional drummer and educator based in the Midwest. Francis started gigging professionally at age 15 in Chicago and has since performed with great musicians including Greg Ward, Jeff Parker, John Raymond, Matt Ulery, Steve Allee, Frank Glover, Rajiv Halim & Rachel Caswell. Francis has performed at notable venues such as The Jazz Showcase, The Jazz Kitchen, Fulton Street Collective, Elastic Arts, Fitzgerald’s Nightclub, The Chatterbox, Merriman’s Playhouse. Most recently, Francis has been the drummer on Sam Butler’s “Folklore” album release tour.

 

Francis is the drummer on a multitude of recordings, including Jin Sook Kwak’s Existence, IU Plummer Jazz Sextet album, Heliotrope (Shades of Purple) Kyle Cantrell’s The Shifting Lens, the Tom Johnson Big Band, all of which are to be released in 2024.

 

Francis attends the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music on the Premier Young Artist Scholarship, and recently became recipient of the NSAL Jazz Award in the Indiana Chapter. He was also a member of the prestigious Plummer Jazz Group and performed in venues in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Bloomington with the group. Francis studies with Sean Dobbins, Greg Ward, John Raymond, Wayne Wallace, Paul Wertico, Brent Wallarab, Luke Gillespie, Ernie Adams and Joseph Galvin. 

 

Francis also is an active educator, having taught private lessons since 2017, at Artfinix Studios, at Fernando Jones’ BluesKids camp, and has given jazz drum set masterclasses in schools in his hometown.