Leon Spencer
Leon Spencer Jr. (born November 1, 1945 in Houston , Texas - † March 11, 2012 ) was an American soul jazz musician ( organ , piano ) and band leader.
biography
Leon Spencer began playing the piano as a child and had lessons for over ten years. At the beginning of his career he performed in Texas with David "Fathead" Newman , before taking up an engineering degree at Texas Southern University , which he continued at the University of Houston . After completing his military service, he attended a Jimmy Smith concert and decided to work as an organist. At first he accompanied guest artists such as Peggy Lee and Lou Rawls in Houston . He also performed in the Texas area with his school friend, Melvin Sparks . In 1969 Spencer moved to Los Angeles for three months , where he made his first recordings with guitarist Wilbert Longmire . In 1970 Spencer went to New York and worked again with his school friend Melvin Sparks. Spencer and Sparks appeared on Lou Donaldson's Blue Note albums Pretty Things , The Scorpion and Cosmos between 1970 and 1971 .
Spencer soon became known for his own soul jazz albums, which he recorded for Prestige Records in the early 1970s , such as Sneak Preview (1970) Louisiana Slim (1971), Bad Walking Woman (1972) and Where I'm Coming with nonet cast From (1973). Besides Sparks, the performing musicians included Grover Washington, Jr. , Idris Muhammad , Hubert Laws , Sonny Fortune , Jon Faddis , Seldon Powell , Frank Wess , Joe Beck , George Duvivier , Grady Tate and Virgil Jones . After these recordings, Spencer left the music business.
Appreciation
Spencer was heavily influenced by Jimmy Smith as the organist on the Hammond organ B 3 . The first two prestige LPs Sneak Preview and Louisiana Slim were re-released in 1997 under the title Roots of Acid Jazz . Bob Porter mentioned in the liner notes Spencer's unusual use of the organ 's lower manual , with which he developed new bass lines. Payne doesn't see him as a simple Jimmy Smith impersonator; with him “the cosmic funk of Larry Young and Dr. Lonnie Smith with the eccentric soul of rock musicians like Gregg Rolie , Brian Auger , Steve Winwood or Ray Manzarek ”.
Discography (selection)
Band leader
- Sneak preview! (Prestige, 1970; 1971) with Melvin Sparks , Grover Washington Jr., and Idris Muhammad
- Louisiana Slim (Prestige, 1971) with Melvin Sparks, Grover Washington Jr., and Idris Muhammad
- Bad Walking Woman (Prestige, 1972)
- Where I'm Coming From (Prestige, 1972/73; 1973) with Grady Tate and Idris Muhammad
Accompanist
- for Lou Donaldson
- Hot Dog (Blue Note, 1969) with Charles Earland and Idris Muhammad
- Pretty Things (Blue Note, 1970) with Melvin Sparks, Blue Mitchell , Lonnie Smith, and Idris Muhammad
- The Scorpion (Blue Note, 1970; 1995) with Melvin Sparks and Idris Muhammad
- Cosmos (Blue Note, 1971) with Melvin Sparks and Idris Muhammad
- for Melvin Sparks
- Sparks! (Prestige, 1970; BGP / Ace 1993) with Idris Muhammad
- Akilah! (Prestige, 1972; BGP / Ace 1993) with Idris Muhammad
Web links
- Leon Spencer at Discogs (English)
- Portrait at Allmusic (English)
- Biography at Doug Payne Whatever Happened to Leon Spencer?
- Jazz Discography Project: Prestige Records 1971-1972
- Jazz Discography Project: Prestige Records from 1973
Individual evidence
- ↑ Obituary News: Leon Spencer Jr. (1945-2012) ( Memento of the original from July 31, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers from March 29, 2012, on allaboutjazz.com (English)
- ↑ death notice on organissimo
- ↑ a b Biography at Doug Payne Whatever Happened to Leon Spencer?
- ^ Scott Yanow : Portrait at Allmusic
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Spencer, Leon |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Spencer, Leon junior (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American soul jazz musician (organ, piano) and band leader |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 1, 1945 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Houston , Texas |
DATE OF DEATH | March 11, 2012 |