Lawrence Leathers

Lawrence Leathers
Born(1981-11-23)November 23, 1981
Lansing, Michigan, United States
DiedJune 2, 2019(2019-06-02) (aged 37)
New York, New York, U.S.
GenresJazz
InstrumentPercussion

Lawrence "Lo" Leathers (November 23, 1981 – June 2, 2019)[1] was an American jazz drummer who played on two of Cécile McLorin Salvant's albums that have won Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Biography

Leathers was born in Lansing, Michigan. He began to play professionally at the age of 15 and moved to New York after accepting a place at the Juilliard School.[2] He is featured on two of Cécile McLorin Salvant's recordings, “For One to Love” (2015) and Dreams and Daggers (2017), both of which won Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album.[3]

Leathers is best known to a global jazz audience for his affiliations with pianist Aaron Diehl.[2] Diehl’s trio includes Paul Sikivie on bass and Leathers on drums. The trio is often fronted with Jazz vocals by Cécile McLorin Salvant.[4]

Featured by Capsulocity in 2012,[5] he talks about what influences his music before he became a drummer for jazz musicians such as Mulgrew Miller, Wynton Marsalis,[6] Wycliffe Gordon,[7] Cyrus Chestnut and Rodney Whitaker.

Death

Leathers was killed during a domestic dispute with his girlfriend Lisa Harris on June 3, 2019, at his home in New York.[2] Harris and Sterling Aguilar were arrested in connection with his death, with allegations that Harris restrained Leathers and Aguilar punched and choked him.[3][8]

References

  1. ^ "Grammy-Winning Jazz Musician Killed During Reported Dispute". Vibe. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Lawrence Leathers, Grammy-Winning Jazz Drummer, Victim Of Suspected Murder". NPR.org. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b Russonello, Giovanni; Watkins, Ali (3 June 2019). "Lawrence Leathers, Jazz Drummer on Grammy-Winning Albums, Found Dead After Assault". Retrieved 6 June 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  4. ^ Kaplan, Fred (15 May 2017). "Cécile McLorin Salvant's Timeless Jazz". Retrieved 6 June 2019 – via www.newyorker.com.
  5. ^ Capsulocity (8 September 2012). "Episode 1, Season 14 : Lawrence Leathers on Drums". Retrieved 6 June 2019 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Wynton Marsalis in New York". wyntonmarsalis.org. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  7. ^ PopovMedia (4 July 2010). ""Naima" Wycliffe Gordon with Aaron Diehl, Ben Williams, Lawrence Leathers". Retrieved 6 June 2019 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Rayman, Wes Parnell, Kerry Burke, Graham. "Duo accused of killing Grammy-winning jazz drummer choked and punched him for 30 minutes: prosecutors". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 7 June 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)