Leon Spencer

Leon Spencer Jr. ( born November 1, 1945 in Houston, Texas; † 11 March 2012) was an American soul jazz musician (organ, piano ) and bandleader.

Biography

Leon Spencer began playing piano as a child and had over ten years of teaching. Earlier in his career he appeared in Texas with David " Fathead " Newman, and then take 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. First, he accompanied in Houston gas animal artists like Peggy Lee or Lou Rawls. He has also performed with his school friend Melvin Sparks in space Texas. 1969 Spencer moved for a quarter of a year to Los Angeles, where he recorded his first recordings with guitarist Wilbert Longmire. In 1970 he came to New York and worked immediately with Melvin Sparks. In 1970 he participated in Lou Donaldson Blue Note album Pretty Things.

He soon became known for his own soul jazz albums that he recorded in the early 1970s for Prestige Records, such as Sneak Preview (1970 ) Louisiana Slim (1971 ), Bad Walking Woman (1972) and in Nonettbesetzung Where I'm Coming from (1973). Among the participating musicians included, in addition Sparks, among others 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 as organist at the Hammond Organ B 3 of Jimmy Smith. The first two Prestige LPs Sneak Preview and Louisiana Slim were re-released under the title Roots of Acid Jazz 1997. Bob Porter mentioned this in the liner notes the unusual use of Spencer's lower manual of the organ, which he developed new bass lines. Payne does not see him as a simple Jimmy Smith impersonator; with him " to the cosmic radio mix by Larry Young and Dr. Lonnie Smith with the eccentric soul of rock musicians such as Gregg Rolie, Brian Auger, Steve Winwood or Ray Manzarek ".