First-place prize winner of the prestigious “Adventurous Programming” Award
- Chamber Music America/ASCAP

“A wonderful tapestry of richly woven textures held together by the woof and warp of drums and percussion. The band clicks like magic with an impressive level of communication and understanding.” - Jazz Times

Lea brings a heady and propulsive sense of soul to jazz, along with something deeper- an authentication of the music to African culture. Fans of everything from ‘70’s progressive funk to ‘90’s neo-soul will appreciate his style.” – Providence Journal

Babatunde Lea is one of those ‘old souls’- wise and serene, deeply in touch with spiritual essences, blessed with a culturally diverse perspective, and bubbling over with ideas and creative energies that strongly suggest he’s been this way before.

Lea has forged a career steeped in the rhythms of the motherland of Africa and its Caribbean and South American diaspora. Raised in New York City and Englewood, New Jersey, he migrated westward to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960’s where he was further immersed in global rhythms.

Now an established session musician and performer, Lea offers an African inspired jazz journey with his mastery of trap drums and hand percussion.

PROGRAM: Suite Unseen: Summoner of the Ghost
Seeing Babatunde Lea perform “Suite Unseen” live is an experience beyond merely popping in his latest CD. That experience is marked by what Babatunde calls “getting the full brunt of the healing aspect of the music.” The energy of this performance reaches a new level of musicality and spiritual power, comprising five melodic vignettes and culminating in the title suite, “Summoner of the Ghost.”

This program reveals new depths to Lea’s formidable skills- as a trap drummer, from whence he primarily operates, and as a multi-percussionist and African inspired vocalist. His unique setup- three Remo congas tucked neatly into a full trap set, along with shekere, bala fon and other miscellaneous percussion- provides a lavish musical playground for Lea, whose dazzling skill and theatricality routinely result in standing ovations.

“What you get is a tightly disciplined, tightly arranged, Jazz Messengers-influenced soulful post-bop that’s propelled, rather than ruled, by its leader’s formidable technique.” – Los Angeles Weekly

“At the heart of his sound are simple repetitive riffs, growing waves of rhythm and inspired ensemble soloing, creating a surge of visceral exuberance. It is this passionate earthiness that distinguishes Lea’s accessible arrangements.”
– Modern Drummer

“Music is a visceral expression of the spiritual glue that connects us to each other and to ourselves, and it’s a powerful tool for transformation. It is my express wish that my music will empower people to look within and to wake up to new possibilities; to become agents of positive change for themselves, for their families and for the world at large.” - Babatunde Lea