Leo Nocentelli

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leo Nocentelli, 2006

Leo Nocentelli (born June 15, 1946 in New Orleans ) is an American musician ( vocals , guitar ) and songwriter , who was best known as a founding member and solo guitarist of the funk band The Meters .

Live and act

Nocentelli played the ukulele at an early age and began playing the guitar at the age of twelve. He was passionate about jazz and was influenced by jazz guitarists Charlie Christian , Barney Kessel , Johnny Smith and Kenny Burrell . At the age of 14 he supported well-known musicians such as Otis Redding and Clyde McPhatter . He joined the Hawketts and developed a reputation as a guitarist. At the age of 17 he worked for Motown acts including The Supremes , The Temptations and The Spinners .

In 1964 Nocentelli was drafted and served in the army for two years. After his military service, he joined the band of Art Neville , the initially seven-member Neville Sounds , which had national success as Meters in 1968 with the publication of his title Cissy Strut . As a songwriter and producer, he was influenced by Allen Toussaint . As a studio musician and producer, he supported artists as diverse as Dr. John , Robert Palmer , Albert King , Etta James , Joe Cocker , Earl King , Chris Kenner and Betty Harris , later also Peter Gabriel , Lee Dorsey and Patti LaBelle . His songs have also been interpreted by ZZ Hill , Grateful Dead and George Duke . He toured with Jimmy Buffett in the early 1980s .

Nocentelli moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and formed a duo with George Porter; he also performed with the Funky Meters . In 1997 the live album Nocentelli: Live in San Francisco was created . He also worked in various formations around Kip Hanrahan , with whom he also toured in Europe. In addition, bands emerged that tied in with the Meters repertoire : Nocentelli played with Porter and Ziggy Fashioniste as well as Page McConnell for the Meter Men . The Meters Experience was a quartet in which Nocentelli worked with Bernie Worrell , Bill Dickens , Oteil Burbridge, Al Di Meola , Jason Crosby, George Laks, Albert Margolis, Jamal Batiste, Ricky Cortez and Felix Pollard. He can also be heard on albums from The Manhattan Transfer , Stevie Wonder , Bonnie Raitt and Sting . With the other members of the Meters , he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 .

Discographic notes

  • Nocentelli: Live in San Francisco ( DJM , 1997)
  • Rhythm & Rhymes Part 1 (TLB, 2009)
  • The Secrets of Funk: Using it and Fusing it! (2003)

literature

  • Jason Berry, Jonathan Foose, Tad Jones: Up from the Cradle of Jazz . Da Capo Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0-306-80493-9 , pp. 190-200 .
  • Grace Lichtenstein, Laura Dankner: Musical Gumbo: The Music of New Orleans . WW Norton, 1993, ISBN 978-0-393-03468-4 , pp. 153-160 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Nocentelli, Leo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fusion musician (vocals, guitar) and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH New Orleans