Leo Nocentelli

Leo is one of the original members of the Meters, a groundbreaking funk group based in New Orleans from the mid-’60s to the mid-’70s. The band, playing mostly instrumentals, stayed at the forefront of the music scene in the Big Easy and achieved a good measure of national attention with Nocentelli penning songs and contributing guitar work. He has since gone out on his own developing his style with varied elements that span blues, rock, rap, jazz, and funk, but he considers himself a funk musician, first and foremost. He and his band have performed from coast to coast across the U.S., including an appearance at New Orleans’ Jazz & Heritage Festival. He has penned more than 200 songs, some of which were recorded by Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Etta James, the Neville Brothers, Z.Z. Hill, Albert King, and George Duke.
In his beginning Leo found work with Danny White, and followed up with a stint as part of Art Neville & the Hawkettes. The Hawkettes eventually evolved into the Meters, whose membership included George Porter Jr. and Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste. Nocentelli’s career includes session work for a number of artists, including Peter Gabriel, Earl King, Dr. John, Lee Dorsey, and Patti LaBelle, as well as the Wild Tchoupitoulas, an offshoot of the Meters. He has also played on recordings by Manhattan Transfer, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, Bonnie Raitt, Sting, and the Winans, among others.