Sunday, August 19, 2012

Lenny Kay - The Man, The Legend


Slideshow tribute to Lenny Kay, lounge band drummer who has called the Harrisburg, PA area his home for more than 50 years, and the many musicians he's played with over the years.

Lenny Kay has been around forever...or so it seems. Lenny started his musical career in ninth grade, working with a 12-piece big band that he started in the coal regions of north central Pennsylvania. When the big band work slowed, he transitioned to small groups working the local club circuit. Several years later while serving in the U.S. Army in Berlin, Germany, he played on weekends with a German jazz group.

Shortly after his discharge, he along with four other fine musicians formed "The Nitecappers" and hit the road. They soon became a hot group working the East Coast and Canada, and were a staple in Wildwood, NJ and other eastern shore points. The Nitecappers shared the stage with many top entertainers and musicians of their era.

After years of traveling, Lenny decided to settle down and make his home near Harrisburg, PA - a great city for music. Along with his son, a fine musician aptly named "Lenny Younger", Lenny formed the Lenny Kay Band. The band had a very distinct sound. Using Lenny's road experience and expertise, the Lenny Kay Band soon became very popular with a great following in south central Pennsylvania.

Lenny has performed in many venues from the East Coast to Las Vegas. Ask anyone in the area if they know Lenny Kay..their answer is, "You betcha I know Lenny Kay, doesn't everybody?"

The band took on the name Lenny Kay Revue in the 1980's, and several personnel changes followed throughout he 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's.

Officially. the Lenny Kay Revue played it's final job under that name on 12/31/05-1/1/06 for the New Year's Eve celebration at the Hotel Hershey with personnel of Lenny Kay, Bob Mentzer, Scott Simpson, and Ken Glace. However, one more little-known peformance was played under the band name Lenny Kay Revue in late 2007 with Lenny Kay, Lenny Younger, and Bob Mentzer.

The curator of the linked YouTube account, Bob Mentzer (aka Bobotmedia), was keyboard player and lead singer for the Lenny Kay Revue from 1995 through 2007 and is the creator, producer and editor of this video.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Secret Love - Nitecappers - c. 1965

Cap Cleary, Danny Grant, Lenny Kay, Joe Marnickas
Here's a gem from the Nitecappers at the Harrisburg Moose around 1965. An upbeat showy arrangement of Secret Love features nice licks by Joe Marnickas on sax, Cap Cleary on trombone, Danny Grant on B3, and Lenny Kay on drums. Cappy, you bastard!

Secret Love
MP3