Bio
Larry is known as a "musical
chameleon", easily switching from one musical style to another, and
that's part of the reason he is one of the top-call freelance drummers
in NYC. His
eclectic resume spans
the gamut from major pop/rock artists, to jazz to country and even
classical percussion. He was most recently the drummer for
the box office record-breaking hit Broadway musical, "A Christmas Story, The Musical",
at
The
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Prior to that he was the drummer
& substitute Conductor for "How
To
Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", as well as the drummer
and In-House Contractor for the hit rockabilly Broadway show "Million
Dollar
Quartet"
at the Nederlander Theatre.
All this after completing a
multi-year
run
as the drummer for the 12 time
Tony Award winning hit Broadway musical, "The Producers".
He
also
maintains
a
busy schedule filled
with studio recording projects for artists, film and TV jingles, along
with live gigs around New York and occasional major artist tours. (Check out his isolated live dates page or his facebook.com or myspace.com pages for more
info.)
It
doesn't matter where he is or what style of music he's playing, Larry
is simply happiest when he's behind his drums.
In the past, Larry has recorded and performed with artists such as bluesy rocker Melissa
Etheridge, vocal star Josh
Groban, Hollywood
bombshell Anne
Hathaway, star of
TV's "GLEE", Jonathan Groff, stage
and screen star Anika Noni Rose, Tony Award nominee, Laura Osnes, Sebastian
Bach
(former lead singer of Skid Row), pop star Vanessa Williams, Doug
Stone
(Multi Platinum Nashville Recording Artist), Heather Headley (RCA), and
a two year world tour
for the reunion of the legendary 1960's
band, The Mamas & The Papas.
He
is
also
a
former
member
of
the Brooklyn-based indie
rockers: Holding Back Entirely. His impressive resume also
includes performances with jazz piano virtuoso Geoff Keezer, Indie
hard rockers SuffraJett, Latin
trombonist Andre Stephani, and the
Minneapolis based, nationally acclaimed Cedar Avenue Big Band. A
veteran of countless jingles and film scores, he can be heard playing
on recent ads for Fisher Price, Toro, American Express and of course,
he can be heard playing percussion on the Major Motion Picture release
of
"The Producers".
His versatility has
taken him to Broadway, where he is called
upon to play pop, swing, latin, country and traditional 2 beat styles,
often within the same show! His resume of Broadway shows is
extensive, including over 30 different shows. In addition to the
above mentioned shows, he has also held the Broadway drum
chair for "Jekyll
& Hyde", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", "The People In The
Picture" and the Broadway debut of
Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman's five time Tony Award winner,
"Assassins".
An advocate for
music in the schools and promotion of the arts in
general, Larry remains an active educator making music festival, school
and store appearances on behalf of Yamaha Drums & Percussion.
He also enjoys writing and is a regular contributing author for Modern
Drummer Magazine among others.
He has also been the subject of several feature articles in Modern
Drummer, International Musician, Drum! Magazine, The LaCrosse
Tribune and The View. Larry
holds a bachelor's
degree in music performance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire. Recent web features:
Yamaha
All
Access
Magazine
Feature
Interview
Sabian "Who The Heck Is Larry Lelli" Feature Interview
Yamaha All Access 360 Video Feature Interview
Vic Firth Larry Lelli Feature Interviews
Latin
Percussion
Larry
Lelli
Broadway
Feature Article (page 5)
Lastly, Larry is honored to have been included in a portrait book
featuring the most inspirational drummers from across the globe:
"Sticks N Skins". Available wherever books are sold, or click here.
