New Orleans native Matt Lemmler was raised just blocks from Fats Domino's home. He earned a bachelor's in music from Loyola University New Orleans and a master's from the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where his compositions debuted at Carnegie Hall. He then toured Europe for four years with Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'The Phantom of the Opera.'
Back in New Orleans, Lemmler played routinely with Pete Fountain, Bob French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, and others, and arranged and conducted French pop star Dany Brillant's platinum records 'A La Nouvelle Orleans' and 'Histoire d'Un Amour.' After a post-Katrina stint in Houston, he returned home and now leads the New Orleans Jazz Revival Band in performance and educational programs.
Lemmler is a New Orleans Steinway Artist and a jazz piano instructor at his alma mater, Loyola University's College of Music and Media. His albums with the New Orleans Jazz Revival Band include 'Portraits of Wonder,' a tribute to Stevie Wonder; 'The Music of New Orleans'; 'UBUNTU,' reimagined hymns and spirituals featuring Brian Blade, Jason Marsalis, and Bill Summers; and 'New Orleans in Stride,' his eighth album, tracing the city's piano history from Jelly Roll Morton to James Booker.
