Lennie Niehaus - Life and Career

Life and Career

Niehaus was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Lennie’s sister was a concert pianist, his father an expert violinist. Père Niehaus, his father, started his son on violin at age seven. Lennie then changed instruments to bassoon. At thirteen, he began alto saxophone and clarinet. About this time he began composing. In 1946, while still studying music at college (what is now CSULA), Lennie started his professional career, along with reedmen Herb Geller, Herbie Steward and Teddy Edwards. He went with the Stan Kenton orchestra for six months. However, he was drafted into the army in 1952. Discharged in 1954, he rejoined Kenton for five years.

He left in 1959 because he wanted to be a composer. He went back to Los Angeles to arrange for the King Sisters, Mel Tormé, Dean Martin, and Carol Burnett. In 1962 he began orchestrating for film composer Jerry Fielding. Niehaus worked with Fielding on approximately sixty or seventy TV shows and films. Since Fielding’s death, Lennie has been a leading film composer in his own right. He always does his own orchestrating for his pieces.

In films Lennie never forgets his jazz roots. The story of the film City Heat was cast in the 1930s, so he wrote jazz of that period using people like altoist Marshal Royal. Bill Perkins came in and played like Lester. He had a jazz violinist who sounded like Stephane Grappelli. Then there was a boogie woogie sequence with three pianists Pete Jolly, Mike Land and producer Clint Eastwood. After many years of not playing his alto saxophone at all, Niehaus returned to performing, reportedly in top form. He still composes for films as well. He was the musical director for the Charlie Parker feature film, Bird.

His work includes Spiritual Jazz Suite, four pieces arranged for brass quartet, Three sets of Christmas Jazz suites (4 pieces in each) and a Christmas Jazz Medley arranged for saxophone quartet, a book of classical saxophone duets, A beginning, intermediate, and advanced methods for the understanding of jazz technique, and a book of jazz saxophone duets exemplifying jazz styles.