DWF 2011 - Ndugu Chancler

Leon "Ndugu" Chancler is one of the headliners on September 11 during the 2011 edition of the Drumworld Festival. His most famous achievement is a string of studio recordings, with Michael Jackson’s "Billie Jean" standing out above the rest.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Ndugu attended Locke High School in Los Angeles where, at the age of thirteen, he began to play the drums. During high school, he worked with Willie Bobo and the Harold Johnson Sextet. Upon graduation, Ndugu studied music education at California State University, Dominguez Hills. While in college, he performed with the Gerald Wilson Big Band, Herbie Hancock, and Hugh Masekela. By the age of nineteen, Ndugu had performed and recorded with such greats as Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Eddie Harris, Harold Land, and Bobby Hutcherson. He has worked on several Grammy-nominated albums and has numerous production and co-production credits.

Ndugu Chancler is known not only as a world-class drummer and percussionist, but also as a producer, composer, clinician, and teacher. A three-time Grammy nominee, he boasts an extensive list of performances, recordings, original compositions, and productions. As a studio musician, he has performed and recorded with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Hubert Laws, The Crusaders, Frank Sinatra, Weather Report, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Thelonious Monk, and John Lee Hooker. He played the drums on the best-selling pop album by Michael Jackson, Thriller, providing the beat on "Billie Jean." As a producer and songwriter, he wrote hits for The Dazz Band and George Duke, and produced for Flora Purim, Bill Summers, Toki, and his own solo recordings. He co-produced recordings for Santana, The Crusaders, George Duke, Tina Turner, Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, and The Meeting, a group he co-leads with Patrice Rushen and Ernie Watts.