Leland Diran Tomboulian (born January 8, 1960) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, accordionist, composer, arranger, and educator.

Early life and career

Lee Tomboulian was born in 1960 in White Plains, New York. He is the youngest of four children of Clyde Tomboulian and sculptor Norma Tomboulian. He displayed an affinity for music, in particular for the piano, by age seven, and was given several years of private instruction. Tomboulian attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, majoring in music composition with a minor in theater arts. He continued to live and work in Arkansas for more than a decade, where he met his wife, jazz singer Elizabeth "Betty" Elkins, in the late eighties. In 1989 he formed the ensemble Circo Verde. The group was influenced by the music of Brazil and Uruguay, particularly Brazilian percussionist

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer, composer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a membe ...

's 1973 album ''

Fingers A finger is a prominent digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (pentadactyly), Chambers 1998 p. 60 ...

'', whose Uruguayan rhythm section formed their own influential

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

trio, Opa. One of Opa's founding members,

Hugo Fattoruso Hugo Fattoruso (born 29 June 1943) is a Uruguayan composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. As well as developing a career as a soloist, he has participated and performed in many different genres: Trío Fattoruso (with his son Fran ...

, produced the debut recording of Tomboulian's self-described "pop-latin-jazz" ensemble more than a decade later. In 1992, Tomboulian married Elizabeth Elkins. The following year, they departed Arkansas for Denton, Texas where Tomboulian attended the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

as a graduate student, earning a Master of Music in Jazz Studies in 1997. While earning his degree, he performed and recorded with the university's

One O'Clock Lab Band One O'Clock Lab Band is an ensemble of the Jazz Studies division at the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton, Texas. Since the 1970s, the band's albums have received seven Grammy Award nominations, including two for ''Lab 2009' ...

, appearing on the CD ''Lab '97.'' The album features a track, "B.B.", composed and arranged by Tomboulian. At some point during the Tomboulians' 12-year stay in Denton, Circo Verde's name became simply Circo, under which name its two albums were recorded. In 2005, the Tomboulians moved to Wisconsin, where Lee served as Instructor of Jazz Piano and Improvisation at

Lawrence University Conservatory of Music The Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, a constituent member of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, offers undergraduate degrees in music, music performance, education, theory, and composition. Founded in 1874, it is one of the olde ...

. He continued in this capacity until 2011, when the couple relocated to New York City. Since then, Tomboulian has released a CD, ''Imaginarium,'' with solo piano and overdubbed accordion.

Discography

As le.dHe is er

* '' North/South Convergence'' (Circo Music, 2000)"North South Convergence (Musical CD, 2000)"

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

. Retrieved 2014-07-21. * ''Return to Whenever'' (Lee Tomboulian, 2007)"Return to Whenever (Musical CD, 2007)"
Worldcat. Retrieved 2014-07-21. * ''Imaginarium'' (Lee Tomboulian, 2012)"Imaginarium (Musical CD, 2012)"
Worldcat. Retrieved 2014-07-21.

As sideman

With Kelly Franklin * ''Labyrinth'' (Sidhe Records, 1993) With Little Jack Melody and his Turks * ''World of Fireworks'' (Carpe Diem, 1994), accordion, piano

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. Retrieved 2014-07-21. With

Trout Fishing in America ''Trout Fishing in America'' (1967) is a novella written by Richard Brautigan. It consists of short pieces linked by recurring characters. Technically it is Brautigan's first novel, as he completed it in 1961. But his book '' A Confederate Ge ...

* ''Mine!'' (Trout Records, 1994), accordion, piano * ''Who Are These People'' (Trout Records, 1994), accordion, organ With Brian Moore * ''The Signpost'' (Brian Moore, 1995) With The One O'Clock Lab Band * ''Lab '97'' (North Texas Jazz, 1997)"Lab '97 (Musical CD, 1997)"
Worldcat. Retrieved 2014-07-21. With The Two O'Clock Jazz Band * ''Two O'Clock Jazz Band'' (1997, Klavier Records), piano * ''Moon River'' (1999, Klavier Records), piano With Al Gibson * ''It's About Time'' (Al Gibson Music, 1999)"It's About Time (Musical CD, 1999)"
Worldcat. Retrieved 2014-07-21. With The UNT Jazz Repertory Ensemble * ''Rockin' In Rhythm'' (North Texas Jazz, 1999, recorded in 1996) With Tony Hakim * ''Summer Place'' (Grasshopper Records, 2000, rec. btw November 1997 and November 1999) With Pete Brewer * ''Second Wind'' (Pic Records, 2000), piano – track 3, part 2 With Mary Ellen Spann * ''Little Red Robin'' (China Alley Records, 2002) With Susan Colin * ''Shabbat Favorites'' (Lowell Music, 2003) * ''Every Day: Songs of a Spiritual Life'' (Jewish Song Service, 2005) With Faith to Faith * ''Worship'' (Doxology, 2005), piano With Colin Boyd * ''Sincerity'' (Crystal Clear Sound, 2005), organ With Lisa Perry * ''Tropical Rose'' (Angel Rose Music, 2005) With John Adams * ''Trios'' (Congruent Music Co., 2006), keyboard, tracks 1, 7 & 8 With

Wycliffe Gordon Wycliffe A. Gordon (born May 29, 1967) is an American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano ...

* ''Jazz Celebration Weekend, November 11, 2006: Wycliffe Gordon'' (Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, 2006), piano With

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) (born 1960), American musician and composer * Maria Schneider (ca ...

* ''Jazz Series, June 1, 2007'' (Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, 2007), accordion, track 4 With

Stuart Dempster Stuart Dempster (born July 7, 1936 in Berkeley, California) is a trombonist, didjeridu player, improviser, and composer. Biography After Dempster completed his studies at San Francisco State College, he was appointed assistant professor at th ...

* ''Stuart Dempster, trombone w thBrian Pertl, didjeridu & Dane Richeson, percussion'' (Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, 2009), accordion With

Terrell Stafford Terrell Lamark Stafford (born November 25, 1966, Miami) is an American jazz trumpeter. Stafford studied music formally, taking a bachelor's degree in Music Education at the University of Maryland in 1988 and a master's degree at Rutgers in 1991.Ga ...

* ''Terell Stafford, trumpet: w thJazz Faculty Trio'' (Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, 2011)

As arranger/composer

With The One O'Clock Lab Band * ''Lab '97'' (North Texas Jazz, 1997), composer – "B.B." With Al Gibson * ''It's About Time'' (Al Gibson Music, 1999), composer – "Rhoda Ribbon" and "Memory Gardens" With The Lawrence University Conservatory of Music * ''A Concert for Humanity'' (Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, 2006), composer – "Set for New Orleans" (disc 1, track 16) * ''Hybrid Ensemble and Solo Jazz Singers in Concert'' (Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, 2009), arranger – "Louva-a-Deus" (

Milton Nascimento Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Nascimento has recorded 32 studio albums and has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music ...

) * ''Just Jazz: Hybrid Ensemble'' (Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, 2010), arranger and lyricist – "Nothing Personal" (

Don Grolnick Don Grolnick (September 23, 1947 – June 1, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and record producer. He was a member of the groups Steps Ahead and Dreams, both with Michael Brecker, and played often with the Brecker Brothers. As a sess ...

)"Hybrid Ensemble concert, May 22, 2010 (Musical CD, 2010)"
Worldcat. Retrieved 2014-07-21.

References

External links

Audio

Interview
on

KUAF KUAF (91.3 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Fayetteville, Arkansas, serving Northwest Arkansas. The station is owned by the University of Arkansas, with studios and offices near the school's campus in Downtown Fayettevill ...

's "Ozarks At Large"

Text

List of compositions
at BMI
Lee Tomboulian's jazz commentary & criticism (1989–1991)
at Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomboulian, Lee Living people 1960 births American jazz accordionists American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz keyboardists American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Latin jazz composers Latin jazz keyboardists Latin jazz pianists Lawrence University faculty University of North Texas College of Music alumni 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American accordionists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians