LES DEMERLE
Genres: Vocal Jazz, Big Band, Classic Fusion, Soul Jazz, Pop, Art Song, Folk, Hard Bop, Funk Jazz, Exotica • United States

Native New Yorker Les DeMerle is a veteran jazz drummer who is also known for his talents as a vocalist. DeMerle, in fact, is one of the few jazz drummers who has been able to sing and play drums simultaneously. Some jazz drummers who have had vocal skills have opted to compartmentalize the two; Grady Tate, for example, is both a skillful drummer and a skillful singer (although he is better known for the former), but when he recorded his vocal-oriented session, TNT: Grady Tate Sings, for Milestone/Fantasy in 1991, Tate did not play the drums at all and asked Dennis Mackrel to handle all of the drumming. DeMerle, on the other hand, has not put his drums aside when he decided to do some singing. It is safe to say that DeMerle has been one of jazz' more singer-friendly instrumentalists; he has been featuring his wife, singer Bonnie Eisele, read more...