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Short Bio
Lee got
into music early, first with the clarinet, and later with the sax; in
junior high school, the boys formed their first dance band ("The
Starlighters"), which eventually turned into a six-piece Dixieland band
("The Savoy Six")
that performed all over the east coast while they were still in high
school, and subsequently did a three-month European tour ("The Brunotes") in
the summer of 1958 which included an engagement at the Brussels Worlds
Fair.
After receiving his Master's degree from Manhattan School of Music in
1962, Lee taught music in New Jersey, played about a million gigs, and
studied arranging with William Russo in New York. He played at Grossingers Hotel
in the Catskills, was Paula Wayne's conductor and musical director and
did shows all over the country with her, including the original
"Tonight Show" from New York. While enjoying the Catskills mountain air
he also fulfilled a long-time dream and got his private pilot's license.
In the early 70's he started a NY jazz-rock big-band "SoundMachine" and
then "SoundMachine II"; the band rehearsed and performed all over the
New York area until 1976, when the bottom fell out of the music
business
and they finally disbanded.
At the end of the 70's, after building a computer from a kit
and parts, and by then totally disgusted with the 'music business', Lee
saw the 'handwriting on the wall' and decided to leave teaching for the
world of personal computers.
He worked at one of the first computer stores on the east coast where he
built up a great hardware background; managed a "ComputerLand" store
for a while, then got into software development.
He was
instrumental in helping to create the massive "Yugo America, Inc."
dealer communications network; later, when the opportunity came to do
the same thing
for "Sterling Motor Cars" in Miami, he grabbed it,
packed up his horns and his music, and headed south.
Since arriving in Miami, the idea was always there: to start another
big-band someday.
It was the maturity of the PC and the availability of high-powered music publishing software that
allowed the quick and
relatively painless creation of top-quality big-band music.
It was at the beginning of 1999 that Lee finally decided that it was time to start another band.....
The "Lee
Harris New Millennium Big Band" was born! It didn't last long....
***
After a few years programming in the south Florida area , Lee went back into music teaching,
working at a few different private schools in the area, building a website, and
doing arrangements for a number of local big-bands.
***
He retired from school teaching finally in 2008, but has continued teaching privately,
and building up a large catalog of musical arrangements.
*****
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