Les DeMerle
Lester William DeMerle (born November 4, 1946 in Brooklyn , New York ) is an American drummer , singer and big band leader of jazz and fusion music .
Life
DeMerle studied drums and percussion with Bob Livngstone in New York from 1960 to 1965, then music theory and harmony with Alf Clausen . At the age of 16 he jammed with Lionel Hampton and in 1966 he played in the Dorsey band led by Lee Castle . In 1967 he founded his first own formation called Sound 67 with Randy Brecker and Arnie Lawrence ; In the late 1960s he performed in the New York area with Joe Farrell and Lee Konitz . In 1971 he moved to Los Angeles, where he formed Transfusion , the house band at the Cellar Theater . In it u played a. also Michael Brecker , Eric Marienthal , David Benoit and Raul De Souza. In 1974 he performed with Harry James , with whom he worked for a total of 12 years, at the Newport Jazz Festival . In 1976 he recorded the album Smilin 'Billy Suite / A Day in the Life with the Heath Brothers on Strata-East ; he also worked with Bunk Gardner . In the 1980s he worked on albums by his wife Bonnie Eisele and has since led a big band with whom he recorded a number of albums for the Seattle label Origin in the 2000s , including a tribute album on the classic Blue Note Records , Hittin 'the Blue notes .
Les DeMerle is one of the few drummers who also sing at the same time. He also accompanied vocalists Frank Sinatra , Sammy Davis, Jr. , Tony Bennett , Sarah Vaughan , Mel Tormé and Eddie Jefferson as drummer .
Discographic notes
- Hittin 'the Blue Notes, Volumes 1 and 2 . (Origin, 2003)
- The Jazz Spirit of Christmas (Origin, 2004)
- Cookin 'at the Corner, Volumes 1 and 2, (Origin, 2006/07)
- Gypsy Rendezvous, Vol. One (Origin, 2011)
literature
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | DeMerle, Les |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | DeMerle, Lester William (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American drummer, singer and big band leader in jazz and fusion music |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 4, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn , New York |