Leo Nocentelli | |
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Background information | |
Born | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | June 15, 1946
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instrument | Guitar |
Years active | Late 1950s–present |
Member of | The Meters |
Leo Nocentelli (born June 15, 1946) [1] is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the funk band the Meters. He wrote the original versions of several funk classics such as "Cissy Strut" and "Hey Pocky A-Way". As a session musician he has recorded with a variety of notable artists such as Dr. John, Robert Palmer and Etta James. He is the recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of the Meters.
Nocentelli grew up in the Irish Channel and Seventh Ward neighborhoods of New Orleans. He was encouraged by his father to pursue music. He played ukulele at an early age and started on guitar at age twelve. [1] [2] He gravitated to jazz and was influenced by jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel, Johnny Smith and Kenny Burrell. [3] His first professional gig was at age thirteen. [1] By age fourteen he was backing notable musicians such as Otis Redding and Clyde McPhatter. [2] He played jazz, Dixieland, rhythm and blues, and rock. [4] : 2 He joined the Hawketts and developed a reputation as a guitarist. At age seventeen he did session work for Motown acts including the Supremes, Temptations, and Spinners. [1] [5]
In 1964 he was drafted and served in the army for two years. During leaves he did session work in New Orleans. After the service he joined Art Neville and the Neville Sounds, at the time a recently founded seven-piece band. By 1968 the band consisted of four members: Nocentelli, Art Neville, George Porter, and Ziggy Modeliste. [1] The band had a fluid style and each instrument was free to go anywhere musically. [2] The band performed dance-style rhythm and blues at the Ivanhoe nightclub six nights a week. On Sundays, Nocentelli, Porter, and Modeliste performed jazz gigs. [1] [5] Nocentelli said his bandmates were his biggest influence and called his experience up to this point in time the learning phase of his career. [6] [7]
The band released two singles as the Meters, "Sophisticated Cissy" and "Cissy Strut", both originally written by Nocentelli. [8] [9] The commercial success of "Cissy Strut" became an impetus for the band's subsequent recording career as the Meters. [9] From 1969 to 1977 the band released eight studio albums, with Nocentelli as one of the primary songwriters. [10] He wrote the original versions of funk songs such as "People Say" and "Hey Pocky A-Way". [6] [11] Early on, improvisation was a major part of song development. [12] : 2 Though the band gained notoriety in the music community, the lack of commercial success along with managerial and artistic factors gave way to their disbandment in late 1970s. [13] [5]
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Nocentelli wrote, co-wrote and did session work – mostly in Cosimo, Sansu, and Sea-Saint studios. [1] [3] [6] [14] As songwriter and producer, he learned from and was influenced by Allen Toussaint. [15] [16] He backed a variety of artists such as Dr. John, Robert Palmer, Albert King, Etta James, Joe Cocker, Earl King, Chris Kenner, and Betty Harris. [14] [3] [6]
In 1971, Nocentelli recorded a solo debut album titled Another Side. He wrote the album during a brief span when the Meters were split up. Nocentelli sidelined the project because the Meters signed a record deal with Warner Records in 1972. The album was released years later in 2021. [17]
In the early 1980s Nocentelli toured with Jimmy Buffett. He moved to Los Angeles in 1982. [16] He continued to do session work and performed regularly with former bandmate George Porter as GEO/LEO. [9] [11] He also remained close with Modeliste, who had moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. They performed in various quartet formations and released a live album titled Nocentelli: Live in San Francisco . [18] [19] At one of their shows in 1989, Nocentelli and Porter invited Modeliste and Neville on stage. The impromptu performance was the first reunion of the original Meters. [9] The same year Nocentelli, Neville, and Porter formed The Funky Meters with Russell Batiste on drums. Nocentelli performed with the reincarnated lineup until 1993. [20]
He briefly moved back to New Orleans in the early 1990s and returned to Los Angeles in 1992. [18] He continued to perform with two Meters-inspired lineups: The Meter Men and the Meters Experience. The Meter Men are Nocentelli, Porter, and Modeliste with Page McConnell on keyboards; variations included keyboardists Rich Vogel, John Gros, and drummer Russell Batiste. [12] [21] The Meters Experience is Nocentelli in various quartets with Bernie Worrell, Bill Dickens, Oteil Burbridge, Al Di Meola, Jason Crosby, George Laks, Albert Margolis, Jamal Batiste, Ricky Cortez, Felix Pollard, and others. [4] [11] [22]
Early on, Nocentelli used a Gibson ES-175 hollow body guitar. He switched to a semi-hollow Fender Starcaster in mid-1970s. Around 2001 he switched to the semi-hollow Gibson ES-335. [9] [14] Nocentelli has performed in several reunions with the original Meters lineup. [23] [22] He moved to New Orleans in 2015 and continues to perform. [16] He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 as a member of the Meters. [24]
Nocentelli was self-taught. In his early teens he emulated jazz guitarists while listening to phonograph records. [3] [6] He was drawn to jazz, but to survive professionally he had to become proficient in multiple genres. [3] [4] In 1960s and 1970s he was part of an era in which New Orleans jazz gave way to rhythm and blues, and funk. [1] [25] Nocentelli's band, The Meters, were innovative and set the stylistic tone of New Orleans funk. [1] [13] The band's early works were rooted in improvisation. [12] [26] According to Nocentelli, genres are relative and he alludes to incorporating different genres in his style. [7] [4] He said in funk as well as in rhythm guitar you have to complement and react to what you hear, and said that is not a teachable skill. [11] In addition to live performance and session work, songwriting was a significant part of Nocentelli's contribution. [10] [9]
Credits partly adapted from AllMusic. [28]
The Meters are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint. Their original songs "Cissy Strut" and "Look-Ka Py Py" are considered funk classics.
Rejuvenation is the fifth studio album by the New Orleans funk group The Meters. It was released in 1974. In 2003, the album was ranked number 138 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 139 in a 2012 revised list.
Arthur Lanon Neville Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist from New Orleans.
Look-Ka Py Py is the second studio album by the American funk group The Meters. The instrumental album was ranked number 218 on the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, 220 on the 2012 revised list and 415 on the 2020 revised list.
Cyril Garrett Neville is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans–based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band upon the dissolution of the Meters.
Joseph "Ziggy" Modeliste, also known as Zigaboo Modeliste, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of the funk band the Meters. He is widely considered an innovator in the funk genre and New Orleans style drumming. The Meters' music had a defining role and set the stylistic tone of New Orleans funk. Due to his work with the band, Modeliste is credited as an integral part of bringing New Orleans second-line grooves into popular music.
The Meters is the debut album by the American funk group The Meters. It was released in May 1969, the first of eight albums by the band. The band's early works were developed through improvisation. Band members had spent most of the 1960s performing together in nightclubs of New Orleans. They had a fluid musical style that included elements of R&B, rock, and jazz.
Struttin' is the third studio album by the funk group The Meters. It is the band's first album featuring vocal performances.
Cabbage Alley is the fourth studio album by the American funk group the Meters, produced by Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn and released in May 1972 by Reprise Records. It was the band's first album for the label, following the demise of Josie Records a year earlier. The signing afforded the group a higher recording budget and re-introduced organist and keyboardist Art Neville to the lineup, having briefly left the band some time earlier.
Fire on the Bayou is the sixth studio album by the funk band The Meters.
Trick Bag is the seventh studio album by the funk group The Meters. The name comes from their cover of the Earl King single of the same name.
New Directions is the eighth and final studio album by the funk band the Meters, released in 1977. Produced by David Rubinson in California, it is the band's only album recorded outside New Orleans. The album features the Oakland-based Tower of Power horn section.
George Porter Jr. is an American musician, best known as the bassist and singer of the Meters. Along with Art Neville, Porter formed the group in the mid 1960s and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of funk. The Meters disbanded in 1977, but reformed in 1989. The original group played the occasional reunion, with the Funky Meters, of which Porter and Neville are members, keeping the spirit alive, until Neville's retirement in 2018 and death the following year.
Fiyo on the Bayou is the second studio album by the New Orleans four piece the Neville Brothers. It was released in 1981 on A&M.
David Russell Batiste Jr. was an American drummer based in New Orleans. Batiste played drums for the bands the funky Meters, Papa Grows Funk, and Vida Blue.
Kickback is a collection of rare and unreleased material by the funk group the Meters.
Uptown Rulers: The Meters live on the Queen Mary is a live album by the funk group The Meters recorded on March 24, 1975. It was recorded at the Venus and Mars album release party hosted by Linda and Paul McCartney on board the Queen Mary ship. It captures the band's live sound at their peak in the mid 1970s. It is the only live recording of the band from that period.
Zony Mash is an album of vintage rarities and non-album B-sides by the funk group The Meters. The album consists of 13 tracks of the band's early works with Josie Records from 1968 to 1971. Eight tracks were originally released as singles, and five tracks were released as bonus tracks on re-issue albums.
Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology is a compilation album by the funk group The Meters. The album was released in 1995 by Rhino Records. It is a comprehensive compilation of the band's work.
Nocentelli: Live in San Francisco is a live album by guitarist Leo Nocentelli of The Meters. The album was recorded at Slim's nightclub in San Francisco. It was released by DJM Records in November 1997.
Leo Nocentelli was one of the premier writers of the group and he always had this, this real, aggressive with songwriting and stuff like that.