William Spencer Elgart (born November 9, 1942), performing as Bill Elgart or Billy Elgart, is an American jazz drummer from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He studied at the Berklee College of Music under Alan Dawson. During the 1960s, Elgart performed with artists including Carla Bley, Paul Bley, Marion Brown, Sam Rivers, and Roswell Rudd. His recording debut, Mr. Joy, featuring Paul Bley and Gary Peacock, was released in 1968. In 1976, Elgart relocated to Europe with Tom van der Geld, settling in Salzburg, Austria, and later Ulm, Germany. He was a member of van der Geld’s band Children At Play, appearing on the albums Patience (1977) and Out Patients (1980). Elgart also performed with the groups Zollsound 4, Caoma, and the SunDial trio. In 1990, he began teaching jazz percussion at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg.
