Hayward Blackledge III, 56, drummer and political activist

Jazz musician Hayward S. Blackledge III was destined to be a drummer.

As a child, he used to "bang on the kitchen pots and pans," his sister Alexandra Blackledge Johnson of Peachtree City, Ga., said. "When he got drums for Christmas, our father, a cornet player, taught him the rudiments of drumming."

It wasn't long before young Hayward, sometimes known as "Buzz," was playing gigs in the 1960s with a group of other 13- and 14-year-olds in their Soul Sounds band, rehearsing in a Baptist church on the west side of Providence, where he grew up.

He and Jeffrey Walker of Menlo Park, Calif., continued playing gigs through Classical High School in Providence, where Mr. Blackledge left before graduation to continue his studies as a jazz drummer at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

He progressed well, becoming the school's youngest instructor at the time, his family said, and was soon playing backup to stars such as Patti LaBelle.

Mr. Blackledge, who never stopped playing drums and spent equal energy working in the chancellor's office at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, going to school, working on voting rights in the South, teaching law, and toiling in legal aid, died Sept. 18 at Massachusetts General Hospital of complications of diabetes.

He was 56 and lived part of the year in Newton and part in Boca Raton, Fla.

"Hayward was a Renaissance man," said his wife, Angela Hardie-Blackledge. "But his playing is really who he was. He was an artist. It was his passion."

Over the years, Mr. Blackledge also performed at former Boston jazz venues like the Jazz Workshop, Paul's Mall, and the Sugar Shack.

Four years ago, Mr. Blackledge formed his Hayward S. Blackledge Quartet, which became an anticipated sight at the Sabra Restaurant supper club in Newton.

David Hero of Jamaica Plain was his saxophone player, Ken Willinger of Lexington played guitar, and Ted Knowlton of Lincoln was his pianist.

"Hayward was unique in that he listened to what each musician played," Hero said. "He didn't just keep time, but was a very creative drummer. He really loved to improvise. Given a chance for him to play a solo, he would blow people away. But the spotlight was not always on him. He allowed other members of the band to shine."

Willinger recalled the afternoons the quartet met at Mr. Blackledge's home to rehearse as "the perfect day. . . . Hayward would lay out food and drinks. We'd have great conversations and music." The quartet last played together in December before Mr. Blackledge left for Florida.

Hayward Sylvester Blackledge III was born in Providence. His father played the cornet in the Army Band during World War II.

His whole life was jazz-oriented. Walker recalled that while they were growing up in Providence "we would stay up all night listening to music. Hayward introduced me to jazz, and we would listen to Roland Kirk and Ahmad Jamal and Horace Silver all night long. We would want to play, and I would take out my guitar, and Hayward would get some pots out of the kitchen and use them as bongos. We played until we were sore."

Over the years, Walker recalled in a blog, they went to countless concerts. "Hayward took me to all three Hendrix concerts in Providence - once with counterfeit tickets that cost $8, but we got in. I remember all the music at the Newport Jazz Festival and at the old Jazz Workshop in Boston we went to. I remember when Buzzy [Hayward] played the Jazz Workshop with Victor Brasil, and Buzzy was playing at an incredible level. I was so proud of Buzz."

Once settled in Boston, Mr. Blackledge enrolled at Berklee. His family said he was chosen as instructor and was the youngest one at the time.

Helping others was also a passion.

In 1986, he went to Alabama with Boston political activist Boyce Slayman, while Mr. Blackledge worked in the office of former UMass-Boston chancellor Robert Corrigan. "He was Corrigan's go-to guy for all political issues," Slayman said.

Mr. Blackledge and Slayman went to "Alabama's black belt," Slayman said, to reinforce black voter registration. "In one rural area, Hayward's tires were slashed," he said. On his return, Mr. Blackledge received a citation from Mayor Raymond L. Flynn for his commitment to voting rights in the South.

In the 1970s, with law courses he had taken at the Harvard Extension School, Mr. Blackledge worked as a paralegal at Cambridge-Somerville Legal Services, helping clients with rent control problems, facing eviction, and living in homes infested with rodents.

As an adjunct professor, his family said, he also taught law at Bentley College and at Harvard extension classes.

Twenty-two years ago, at a black-tie fund-raiser for Lena Park Community Development Corporation, Mr. Blackledge met Angela Hardie. They were together ever since.

In later years, Mr. Blackledge was able to devote more time to his music, according to a longtime friend, Stephen Brayton, and played with the studio band of the Boston Ballet for rehearsals and lessons. He remained "a news junkie," Brayton said, "and found the sound of newspapers being tossed on his front walk reassuring."

As for his quartet, saxophone player Hero said, "Hayward would probably like it to continue."

Knowing him," Hero said, "it was all about the music."

In addition to his wife and sister, Mr. Blackledge leaves his stepfather, Dr. Ralph Turner, of Gaithersburg, Md., and another sister, Suzanne of Los Angeles.

Services have been held.