Lafayette Leake

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Lafayette Leake, 1978

Lafayette Leake (born June 1, 1920 in Winona, Mississippi , † August 14, 1990 in Chicago , Illinois ) was an American blues pianist.

Life

Leake is certainly one of the unsung heroes of blues music. Since he wasn't interested in being in the spotlight beyond his music, little is known about his life. He grew up in a musical family where a lot of different styles were cultivated, from classical to blues . His ability to recreate any type of music by ear was remarkable. That and its technology made it an important part of Chicago's blues scene in the early 1950s.

He became a member of the Big Three Trio, where he replaced Leonard Caston, in the early 1950s and remained connected to bassist Willie Dixon all his life. When Dixon went to Chess Records as a songwriter and producer, Leake was there. He played on all of the songs produced by Dixon and on many other sessions as well. For example, he played the piano on Chuck Berry's " Johnny B. Goode ". The list of musicians he accompanied reads like a who's who of blues music ( Chuck Berry , Howlin 'Wolf , Billy Boy Arnold , Otis Rush , Junior Wells , Little Walter , Homesick James , Sonny Boy Williamson , Buddy Guy , Koko Taylor and many others) In the 1960s, Willie Dixon formed the Chicago Blues All-Stars, whose pianist was Leake. He toured with this band until the mid-1970s, after which he made only a few tours and recordings. Notable was his appearance at the 1986 Chicago Blues Festival with Chuck Berry and Keith Richards, and in 1988 he played Willie Dixon's "Hidden Charms" piano. Lafayette Leaks died of complications from a diabetic coma in August 1990 after lying undetected in his home for a few days.

In addition to his work as a session musician, he also recorded his own albums, which only happened in the 1970s. (Might Is Right, Soul Wrinkles both in the 1960s; Feel So Blue (1978) Black & Blue (France), reissued as Easy Blues (2002))

Others

He was also active as a songwriter, with some of his songs being covered, for example Fleetwood Mac's "Love That Woman" on their album The Original Fleetwood Mac . His song "Wrinkles" (sung by the Big Three Trio) was part of the soundtrack to David Lynch's film " Wild at Heart ". The American band Slo Leak was named after an instrumental title Leaks.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b All About Jazz: Biography of Lafayette Leake ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.allaboutjazz.com
  2. ^ AMG biography: Lafayette Leake biography of Bruce Eder
  3. ↑ Kitts, Jeff; Tolinski, Brad (2002). Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Hal Leonard. P. 133. ISBN 0-634-04619-5 .
  4. ^ New York Times
personal data
SURNAME Leake, Lafayette
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues pianist
DATE OF BIRTH June 1, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Winona, Mississippi ,
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 1990
Place of death Chicago , Illinois