Lee Levin is Miami’s go-to session drummer and a producer and engineer with seven Latin GRAMMYs and a GRAMMY to his name. Since graduating from Frost in 1989 he has played on more than 1,000 recordings for artists including Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Shakira, much of it now tracked at his own studio, Big Bang Music.
He was musical director and drummer for Bad Bunny’s 2022 El Último Tour del Mundo arena tour across the US and Canada, and serves as co-musical director of the house band for the Latin GRAMMY Awards telecast. In 2022 he also recorded the Estefan family’s Christmas album with Frost Dean Shelly Berg.
Billboard Magazine’s focus on the South Florida Recording scene referred to Lee Levin as “the city’s most in demand drummer”. Since graduating the University of Miami in 1989, Lee has played on more than 1000 recordings for a variety of artists throughout the world including Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Backstreet Boys, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Nelly Furtado, Clay Aiken, Christina Aquilera, Michael Bolton, Sarah Silverman, Meat Loaf, Teddy Geiger, Ricardo Arjona, Alejandro Sanz, Juan Luis Guerra, Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Eros Ramazzotti, Shakira and many others. His drumming can also be heard on ESPN and NBC Sports shows.
Lee has also recorded a studio album with Barry Gibb and toured with him. He has previously toured/performed with Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias, and Jon Secada. Although mostly known as a studio session player, Lee’s experience’s also includes TV and award shows, classical and Jazz concerts, and performing in the World Premier of the Elvis Costello/Twyla Tharp Ballet, “Nightspot”.
As a writer, Lee has written and/or recorded commercials for Pantene, Bellsouth, Florida Lottery, McDonalds, and Domino’s Pizza. His compositions have been heard on NBC’s Friends, Saturday Night Live, Dateline, America’s Next Top Model and TMZ. Lee has worked on many educational books, videos and CD’s for Alfred Publications including one he wrote for the Ultimate Beginner Tech Start Series entitled “Drum Programming Basics”. He also released his own project in 2012 called The Voters.
A natural transition toward production has landed Levin with 5 Latin Grammy awards and 1 Grammy award. His nominations as either a producer or engineer, include 2 for 2013 Album of the Year (Alejandro Sanz & Andres Cepeda), 2 For 2012 Album of the Year and Record of the Year (Ricardo Arjona), 1 for 2011 Album of the Year (Calle 13) 3 for 2010-Record of the Year (Alejandro Sanz), Album of the Year (Alejandro Sanz), and Best Engineering (Diego Torres). Past nominations include 2009 Record of the Year (Luis Fonsi), 2007-Best Engineering (Juan Fernando Velazco), and 2006 Record of the Year (Ricardo Arjona). In 2008, Lee, along with Tommy Torres and Dan Warner co-produced “Tarde o Temprano” for Tommy Torres, which was nominated in both the American and Latin Grammys. They also co-produced Ednita Nazario’s “Por Ti” album (certified gold), which was nominated for a Grammy and won a Latin Billboard Award, as well as her release “Appasionata”. In addition to co-producing a #1 song for Luis Fonsi, Levin has also produced for Ricardo Arjona, Tommy Torres, Gisselle, and Perry Joslin. Lee’s endorsements include Pearl Drums & Percussion, Promark Drumsticks, Paiste Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, Kickport products and Heil Microphones.
Visit Lee’s website at: www.leelevin.com
And, check out his Modern Drummer blog post: On The Beat With Studio Drummer Lee Levin