Robert Leto:
CLASS OF 1971
Lindenhurst High SchoolClass of 1971
Lindenhurst, NY
Robert's Story
Life
Bob Leto
drums
"Bob Leto, heard for the first time on record in Burn'in the Blues (CAP 2000), is a jazz drummer's drummer."
"Bob's fastidious, provocative drumming is a cornucopia of jazz styles," says Proctor Lippincott of the New York Times. "Mixing the old and the new is the direction he paves on his debut record, Burn'in The Blues."
Burn'in the Blues, Leto's latest recording, is the result of a collaboration with guitarist John Abercrombie, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring and Hammond B-3 player Jeff Palmer.
Leto began his career when he was fourteen by drummmg on telephone books with parade sticks his father bought for him. However, by 18, he had become so accomplished that he won a National Endowment for the Arts award to study with percussion masters Joe Morello and Tony Williams:
"Tony Williams taught me musical concepts, inspiring me to play in more experimental environments, while Joe Morello focused specifically on classical technique."
He backed rock singer Pat Benatar, a former neighbor and classmate in Lindenhurst, New York, during the 1970s before heading off to Boston to study jazz at the Berklee College of Music.
Leto was a regular performer at Sonny's Place in New York in the mid-1980s, where he performed with Billy Mitchell, of the ...Expand for more
Count Basie Band, and led various jazz combos. It was there that he met saxophonist Paul Kendall and bassist John Ray, resulting in their Brownstone release, Excursions, a quartet date with pianist Kenny Drew Jr, where "Leto's introductory drum solo on Secret Love is among the highlights of the album."
"LetoÂs drums play a major role in the success of the recording because he invariably finds interesting ways to stimulate Kendall and Drew, especially in his dynamic exchanges with the pianist." (David Orthmann)
Leto and Kendall also performed together on the CD Red Top (Brownstone, 2000) where "you almost want the drumming that opens numbers like 'The More I See You' to go on for minutes." (Paul West)
"Jazz musicians often fall into one of three general categories: Some are avant gardists, breaking down boundaries and pushing the music forward into unusual situations. Others are revivalists who bring back nearly extinct styles. In the case of saxophonist Paul Kendall and drummer Bob Leto, they are talented modern mainstream players who play quite creatively within the foundation of bebop. Rather than trying to revive the past, they are simply playing themselves, invigorating straight-ahead jazz with their own musical personalities and fresh ideas." (Scott Yanow)
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