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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist, accordionist, composer, arranger and educator.

Early life and career

Lee Tomboulian was born in White Plains into a music-loving family. He was the youngest of four children raised by Clyde Tomboulian and sculptor Norma Tomboulian. Lee Tomboulian displayed an affinity for music, and for the piano in particular, by age seven. He was encouraged in this pursuit with several years of private instruction. Tomboulian attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, majoring in music composition with a minor in theater arts. He continued to live and work in Arkansas for more than a decade. It was there that 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 in especially by the music of Brazil and Uruguay. A particular inspiration was Brazilian percussionist

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer 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 member of the ...

's 1973 album ''

Fingers A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers (Pentadactyly). Chambers 1 ...

'', whose Uruguayan rhythm section would go on to form their own influential

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

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

Hugo Fattoruso Hugo Fattoruso was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1943. Fattoruso is a composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and vocalisAs well as developing a career as a soloist, he has participated and performed in many different genres: Trio Fattoruso ...

, 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 Tomboulain would attend the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

as a graduate student. Tomboulain would earn 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.'' That album features the 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, the name under which 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 Lawrence University Conservatory of Music is a conservatory on the campus of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1894, it is the one of the oldest operating conservatories in the United States. Attached to a liberal arts colleg ...

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

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 OCL ...

. 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

CD Universe CD Universe.com is an e-commerce site that sells music CDs, mp3 downloads, movies, and video games worldwide. CD Universe also offers a wide selection of miscellaneous items such as stuffed animals, jigsaw puzzles, board games, etc. History CD ...

. Retrieved 2014-07-21. With

Trout Fishing in America ''Trout Fishing in America'' is a novella written by Richard Brautigan and published in 1967. It is technically Brautigan's first novel; he wrote it in 1961 before ''A Confederate General from Big Sur'', which was published first. Overview ''Tro ...

* ''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) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

* ''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 Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has toured across the world. Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...

) * ''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 sessi ...

)"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 Fayettevil ...

's "Ozarks At Large"

Video

Youtube channel

Elizabeth Tomboulian's Youtube channel

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 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 accordionists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians