David Lyttle (born 21 June 1984) is a jazz drummer, hip hop producer, composer and record label owner from

Waringstown Waringstown is a large village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies southeast of Lurgan, within the parish of Donaghcloney, and the barony of Iveagh Lower, Lower Half. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,683 people. Over the years, ...

, Northern Ireland. He has released four solo albums and received nominations in the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

and

Urban Music Awards The Urban Music Awards (UMA) is a hip-hop, R&B, dance, and soul music awards ceremony which was launched by Jordan Kensington in 2003 and is now held in several countries. The US version of the award ceremony, the Urban Music Awards USA, was ...

Performing career

Lyttle began performing under the direction of his parents with the Lyttle Family and in his teens was active as a drummer, DJ and studied classical cello. He began his jazz career in the band of Louis Stewart in 2007 and released his debut album ''True Story'' the same year. He has featured notable jazz artists in his groups, including

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator and record label owner. Biography A native of Philadelphia, Rosenwinkel attended the Philadelphia High School for the ...

Seamus Blake Seamus Blake (born December 8, 1970) is a British-born Canadian tenor saxophonist. Early life and education Blake was born in London, England and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His mother introduced him to jazz when he was a c ...

Terell Stafford Terell Stafford (born November 25, 1966) is a professional jazz trumpet player and current Director of Jazz Studies at the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University. Terell Stafford was born in Miami, Florida, and raised in both Chi ...

, Greg Osby,

Jean Toussaint Jean Toussaint (born July 27, 1960) is an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist. Life and career Toussaint was born in Aruba, Dutch Antilles, and was raised in Saint Thomas and New York City. He learned to play calypso as a child and att ...

and

Tim Warfield Timothy Reginald Warfield Jr. (born July 2, 1965, in York, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Early life Warfield picked up alto saxophone when he was nine years old, and switched to tenor when he was a teenager at William Penn ...

, and appeared in the groups of

Jesse van Ruller Jesse van Ruller (born 21 January 1972) is a Dutch jazz guitarist and composer. He won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition in 1995 and has recorded several albums as a leader and more as a sideman. Early life Van Ruller wa ...

David Kikoski Dave Kikoski (born September 29, 1961) is an American jazz pianist and keyboardist. Biography Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Kikoski learned piano from his father and played with him in bars as a teenager. He studied at the Berklee College ...

and

Soweto Kinch Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. Biography Born in 1978 in London, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playin ...

. Lyttle was nominated in the 2015

for Best Jazz Act. He is the first Irish musician to have been nominated for a MOBO. He was also nominated for an Urban Music Award in October 2015. In April 2017 he carried out a 5000-mile, coast-to-coast residency in the U.S., performing for unusual audiences in an attempt to understand more about the public's connection with jazz. The tour included performances at the Bagdad Café on Route 66 in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

, the Little A'Le'Inn' in

Rachel, Nevada Rachel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 48. As the closest settlement to the Nellis Air Force Range and Area 51, Rachel enjoys a m ...

near Area 51 and at the site of jazz drummer Art Blakey's childhood home in the

Hill District The Hill District is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the years leading up to World War I, "the Hill" was the cultural center of black life in the city and a major cent ...

, Pittsburgh. Lyttle received the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, as a successor to ...

's Major Individual Award, worth £15,000, for the project and vlogged for the

YouTube channel. In October 2018 Lyttle collected tape recordings of New York City residents speaking about change in the city, creating "Tapes & Drums, New York", a solo show which features his improvised drumming. Lyttle's 2022 tour included dates in Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, Canada and throughout Europe.

Artist residencies

In 2015 Lyttle was Derry's Musician In Residence as part of the city's legacy program following its designation as

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city (or a local area from 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the ye ...

. From January to March 2016 he was Musician In Residence at the

Metropolitan Arts Centre The Metropolitan Arts Centre, usually referred to as the MAC, is an arts venue in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter and is home to all kinds of exhibitions, theatre performances, experimental works. The MAC is a cultural hub and a vital shared space ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, where he mentored up-and-coming jazz musicians from Northern Ireland. In September and October 2017, Lyttle was the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

and

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

's Musician In Residence in Suzhou, China. He collaborated with traditional Chinese musicians and released a weekly podcast called ''Tapes From China''.

Studio projects

Lyttle's studio projects and output as a producer are usually centred around hip hop, using live drums or the

Akai MPC The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modif ...

2000XL, and often feature the Rhodes piano. Lyttle's second studio album ''

Interlude Interlude may refer to: *a short play or, in general, any representation between parts of a larger stage production *''Entr'acte'', a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production *a section in a movement of a musical piece, se ...

'' was released on 2 January 2012. Its guests include

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

Jason Rebello Jason Matthew Rebello (born 29 March 1969) is a British pianist, songwriter, and record producer. Career Rebello was born in Carshalton, Surrey. His father's family is from India. Rebello was raised a Catholic in Wandsworth, London. He was cl ...

and members of his family. It received its first radio airing on

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, and received positive reviews in Ireland and Britain.

MOBO The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

described it as "an exceptional album" and

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

said it was "a rare sort of treat to come out of Ireland". Lyttle's third studio album ''

Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

'' was released on 16 March 2015 and featured collaborations with

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

Duke Special Duke Special (born Peter Wilson; 4 January 1971) is a songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A piano-based songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, he was previously known for his distinctiv ...

and

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

. It was well received by critics with Dave DiMartino of

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

calling it "one of the best, robust listening experiences you’re likely to have all year" and Colm O'Hare of

describing it as "one of the most inventive Irish releases of the year." Other media champions included

Lauren Laverne Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and additional guitarist in the alternative rock ba ...

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Performing career

Artist residencies

Studio projects

Outreach and charity

Lyte Records

Solo Discography

References

External links