The family of the late drummer Lawrence “Lo” Leathers has joined with Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) to organize a memorial concert at Dizzy’s Club in New York on Monday, February 3 at 7 p.m.
Leathers was a Grammy-winning drummer best known for his work with pianist Aaron Diehl and vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant (the latter with whom he shared both of his two Grammys). He was also a regular presence at the jam sessions and after-hours programming for Smalls Jazz Club. A native of Lansing, Michigan, Leathers was a widely beloved player regarded as a talent on the rise when, in June 2019, he was found dead in a stairwell of his Bronx apartment building, the apparent victim of a homicide. He was 37 years old.
The February 3 memorial concert will be dedicated to Leathers’ memory and, according to a statement from JALC, will “salute his contributions to our musical art form and the legacy he leaves behind in ‘paying it forward’ to the next generation.”
Among the artists scheduled to appear at the concert are Wynton Marsalis with Aaron Diehl and Paul Sikivie; the Nate Lucas All Stars; the JC Stylles Quintet; the George Delancey Quartet; the Gregory Generet Quartet; Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band; the Johnny O’Neal Trio; Dominick Farinacci and Aaron Diehl; the Spike Wilner Smalls Sextet; and many more.
Although this event is not open to the general public, it can be streamed live at jazz.org/live.
