Lennie Niehaus
| Lennie Niehaus | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Leonard Niehaus |
| Born |
June 1, 1929 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Genres | Jazz, West Coast jazz, film music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, arranger, orchestrator |
| Instruments | Alto saxophone |
| Labels | Contemporary |
| Associated acts | Stan Kenton, Bill Perkins, Shelly Manne, Jerry Fielding, Clint Eastwood |
Lennie Niehaus (né Leonard Niehaus; born June 1, 1929) is an American alto saxophonist, arranger, and composer on the West Coast jazz scene. He has played with the Stan Kenton big band, and various other jazz bands on the West Coast of the U.S. Niehaus has arranged and composed for motion pictures, including several produced by Clint Eastwood.
Niehaus was born in St. Louis, Missouri, US. His sister was a concert pianist, his father, Père Niehaus, an expert violinist. His father started him on violin at age seven, then Lennie changed to bassoon. At thirteen, Niehaus began alto saxophone and clarinet, about this time he began composing. In 1946, after graduation from Roosevelt High School, Niehaus started studying music at Los Angeles City College later earning a music education degree from Los Angeles State College in 1951 as part of the school's first full graduating class. Niehaus started his professional career arranging for and playing alto saxophone with Phil Carreón and His Orchestra in the Los Angeles area. Members of the band included saxophonists Herb Geller, Herbie Steward, and Teddy Edwards.
Niehaus went out on the road with the Stan Kenton orchestra for six months but was drafted into the army in 1952. Discharged in 1954, he rejoined Kenton for five years. He wrote extensively for the Kenton band and had the longest and most recorded tenure of any of the lead alto players with the group to include noted names as Charlie Mariano, Lee Konitz, Gabe Baltazar, or Tony Campise. He left the Kenton orchestra in 1959 to pursue music composition in the studios. He arranged music for the King Sisters, Mel Tormé, Dean Martin, and Carol Burnett.
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