Matt Lemmler - MY STORY

MY STORY

Matt Lemmler is considered to be one of the most original musicians (piano, vocal, arranger, composer, educator, producer) to recently emerge from the birthplace of jazz. Raised just blocks away from the home of legendary New Orleans pianist/vocalist Fats Domino, Matt remembers a childhood in the Lower 9th Ward where music constantly filled the house. Matt, his brothers Richard, Jr. and Michael (also a great New Orleans pianist-bandleader), and his father, Richard, Sr., (a retired professional musician); played jazz and classical piano around the clock. After earning a Bachelor of Music from Loyola University and a Master's degree from Manhattan School of Music in NYC, Matt toured four years with Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera. After touring, he came back to the Big Easy and sharpened his skills with some of New Orleans' finest bandleaders including: Bob French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (over 100 years old); Herb Tassin and the Blue Room Orchestra, and master clarinetist Pete Fountain.

Matt Lemmler, piano, New Orleans — Matt Lemmler-Solo Artist & Musical Director for the New Orleans Jazz Revival Band -Photo by Elizabeth Perrin

"Matt Lemmler is a pianist of rare originality and a point of view about standard songs that's always surprising and often quirky."
-Dave Frishberg

Notable Performances

Matt performed nightly with Pete Fountain at the Riverside Hotel

Matt played the Phantom's Organ 8 shows a week for 4 years

Matt's passion for arranging and composing blossomed at an early age. During his high school years at Holy Cross, music directors entrusted him with increasing responsibilities to write for school bands. As a teenager, Matt honed his skills under the guidance of Grammy award-winning Tony Klatka for arranging and Ellis Marsalis, the patriarch of the Marsalis family, along with John Mahoney, Jazz Department Head at Loyola University, for jazz piano.

During his time at Loyola, Lemmler showcased his talents by arranging and composing for various ensembles. His journey also took him to Eastern Europe with the Loyola Chamber Orchestra, where he performed his own composition, “Elegy for Jazz Piano and Chamber Orchestra.”

While embarking on his graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music, Matt showcased his arrangements, compositions, and piano skills with a debut performance at Carnegie Hall.

Portraits of Wonder

The New Orleans Jazz Revival Band

In 2001, Lemmler pursued his own projects and recorded his first CD, "Portraits of Wonder," a New Orleans jazz tribute to the music of Stevie Wonder. The CD received national attention and was performed to sold-out audiences, including at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. It featured noted jazz artists such as Brian Blade, John Ellis, Brice Winston, Leah Chase, George French, and Nicholas Payton.

MY STORY

Notable Performances

Portraits of Wonder

The New Orleans Jazz Revival Band

-Post Katrina-

-UBUNTU and The New Orleans Jazz Revival Band-

-UBUNTU Education/Studio Recordings with Matt Lemmler and the New Orleans Jazz Revival Band-

UMBUNTU EDUCATION

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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