Lew Del Gatto

The versatile Lew Del Gatto has been a dynamic figure in the New York music scene for over thirty years. His versatility and knowledgeable comprehension of musical art-form was the basis for a stellar career. He has been involved with jingles, films, jazz and television. He has been a saxophonist with the Saturday Night Live Band from the show’s beginning in 1975 to 1979. He continued back on the show from 1985 until 2005. Besides his contributions on bari sax and woodwinds, Lew was also involved as an arranger and contractor on this illustrious show.

Lew Del Gatto / David Phillips and Free Dance: Katewalk / David Phillips and Freedance

by C. Michael Bailey
July 1, 2000

Diametrics. These two recent Naxos Jazz releases represent a study in contrasts. Katewalk is a tight, funky, driven affair while Freedance is, well, a Freedance! Del Gatto, a veteran of the Saturday Night Live band, takes a straight-ahead approach to his jazz. He employs Randy Brecker, Victor Lewis, and SNL band mate Steve Turre in his refined mix of chittlin' circuit blues and sophisticated standards. David Phillips, on the other hand, sports Tony Moreno and out-there guitarist Rez Abbasi on ...

Event

A Misty Night for Dan Miller

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
September 3, 2022

Musician friends, family and friends, and students from near and far packed The Barrel Room at Twisted Vine Bistro in downtown Fort Myers on Thursday night, September 1, for a jazz night unlike any other the venue has seen. They were all there, standing room only through the first set, to celebrate the musical legacy of trumpeter and educator Dan Miller, who died unexpectedly on August 19 at age 53. The Barrel Room has been the Thursday night home for ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz in the name of love - and loving it

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
December 11, 2021

With co-leader Dan Miller out of town, tenor saxophonist Lew Del Gatto brought in guitarist Frank Portolese to join the fun for the weekly quartet gig at The Barrel Room in downtown Fort Myers on Thursday, December 9. Trumpeter Miller was busy with jazz faculty duties at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. So the band this night included Saturday Night Live Band alumnus Del Gatto, Portolese, bassist Brandon Robertson and drummer Tony Vigilante. The highlight of the first ...
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Performance / Tour

Channeling two jazz tenor titans

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
January 22, 2016

Tenor saxophonists Lew Del Gatto and Jeff Rupert channeled the spirit and hard-driving swing of Al Cohn and Zoot Sims in their Friday matinee concert at the Venice (FL) Art Center. The South County Jazz Club event teamed the two tenors with pianist Richard Drexler, bassist Don Mopsick and drummer Tony Vigilante. All of the music they performed came from the repertoire of Cohn and Sims, whose musical partnership was something to behold on the New York jazz scene in ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Lew Del Gatto

Lew Del Gatto

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