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OF THE JAZZ GORILLAS
Babatunde
Lea is a Bay Area percussionist, and an established session musician.
He has worked alongside Pharaoh Sanders, Van Morrison, McCoy Tyner,
Leon Thomas, Joe Henderson, John Tchicai, and Bobby Hutcherson,
before recording an album for Ubiquity Jazz that will remind listeners
that he is a skilled band leader, too.
For his debut Ubiquity Jazz album, "March of The Jazz Guerrillas",
Babatunde assembled a heavyweight list of guests to make his point.
Hilton Ruiz plays piano--Ruiz appeared on Babatunde's 1996 recording,
"Level of Intent". Alex Blake is on bass--Babatunde and
Blake play together in Pharaoh Sanders' band. Two master percussionists,
Bill Summers and Munyungo Jackson, join Babatunde to add rhythmic
layers to the mix; and talented West Coast saxophonist and vocalist
Richard Howell rounds out the sound.
Babatunde was born in Danville, Virginia. His family moved northward
up the Eastern Seaboard when he was only six months old and came
to settle in Englewood, New Jersey. It was there that he was first
inspired by his aunts and cousins and by stories of his drum playing
Aunt Gloria (first woman in Virginia playing drums in a marching
band) to begin playing drums himself.
In the sixth grade, Babatunde began drumming with various marching
groups. In 1959, at age 11, he attended a concert of African drumming
and dance performed by Babatunde Olatunji and his Drums of Passion
which left an indelible impression on this young drummer and permanently
set his direction in life. In the ninth grade he began playing conga
drums and was playing on a professional level by his junior year
in high school when, at 16, he played on his first professional
recording session for producer Ed Townsend.
In the early 1970s Babatunde hit his stride in New York City performing
regularly with such high profile artists as Leon Thomas, Oscar Brown
Jr., Lonnie Liston Smith, Kenny Kirkland, John Purcell, Buddy Williams
and Eddie "Gua Gua" Rivera. It was in 1977 that Babatunde
migrated to the West Coast where he settled in the culturally fertile
San Francisco Bay Area. It was not long before Babatunde became
a vital figure in the Bay Areas music scene as well, becoming known
for his versatility and ability to fit into several music genres.
Since then, Babatunde has been the first call drummer for musicians
seeking a dynamic and spirited drumming that he brings to the music.
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