Sonny Lester
Sonny Lester | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Sumner Lester |
| Born | November 15, 1924 Melville, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 28, 2018 (aged 93) University Park, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, Lounge music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Producer, A&R |
| Instrument | Trumpet |
| Labels | Solid State Records, Blue Note Records, Lester Recording Catalog |
| Formerly of | Chick Corea, Joe Williams, Dizzy Gillespie |
Sumner Lester (November 15, 1924 – April 28, 2018), better known as Sonny Lester, was an American Grammy-award-winning music producer from New York City. He started his career as a musician in a big band jazz ensemble before being drafted into the U.S. Army. During the war he earned a Purple Heart and worked under Henry Kissinger, who was an intelligence officer at the time. Lester's recordings have been distributed by labels including Blue Note, United Artists, Capitol, Denon and CBS Records.