Bio
Download PDFDr. Lee Percussion and Electronics, based out of Ottawa, is a high-energy percussion ensemble on the one hand and an electronic music trio that include vocals, trumpet, percussion and electronic beats and textures, on the other. We consist of four core members who have performed for various types of celebrations, festivals and events. Some popular local venues include the Mercury Lounge, the Black Sheep Inn and Arts Court. It is not unusual to see us set up on the ground in front of the stage and audience or amidst the spectators who have been charmed and drawn to the explosion of beats and rythms. Dr. Lee Percussion and Eletronics is comprised of Lee Garbutt, lead drummer on djembe; Yannick Ndongmo, lead singer and djembe; Mario Gauvreau, trumpet and sangban/kenkeni, Chris Krepski, dunduns and djembe. wwwdrleepercussion.com
LEE GARBUTT (aka DR. LEE) is a percussion-based musician and teacher. Inspired by West African rhythms fused with modern electronic beats and sounds in the everyday world, Lee creates music for dance, art installations and other music projects. His credits include performing for Cirque du Soleil and collaborating with The Souljazz Orchestra, Antizario, and the Peter Hum Jazz Ensemble. He is also the curator of the WESTFEST TAM TAM since 2006. One of Dr. Lee's songs was also featured On CBC Television's The Greatest Canadian Invention. In 2003, he released his first CD, Orange Galaxy. He travelled to Guinea Conakry, West Africa to study with djembe master Aboubacar Fatouabou Camara in 2004. Lee is currently performing, teaching djembe classes and working on releasing a new album in 2010.
YANNICK NDONGMO was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Both of her parents are from Cameroon, Africa where music is an integral part of everyday life. She comes from a family of singers, many of whom got their first start singing at school and in church choirs. Her love of music has given her many opportunities to perform for audiences, including during a trip to China in 2007 at the annual International Cultural Tourism Festival. In 2008 Yannick started writing lyrics and recording vocal tracks for Dr. Lee Percussion and Electronics, where she also indulges in her love of rhythms and percussion. The rest as they say is history. In addition to performing and recording with Dr. Lee, she can often be found playing the djembe with children and their families at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.MARIO GAUVREAU studied trumpet with Jean Louis Chatel, a member of the Montreal symphony orchestra from 1974 to 1977. For the next decade, Mario honed his trumpet skills on live radio and television with both Radio-Canada and Télé-Québec. After his trumpet studies, Mario studied drums with Lou Williamson, who has an international reputation as an outstanding show drummer. A natural performer, Mario has played percussion with “Bossa,” a lively Latin jazz quintet. He has also played with composers Robert Grégoire, Marie Nicole Groulx, Stéphane McNicol and Nathalie Nadon. It was in 2006 that Mario started his djembe studies with Dr. Lee. Today, Mario keeps the beat strong with his djembe and kenkeni and plays his trumpet with sizzling style.CHRIS KREPSKI, an Ottawa native, has been a djembe and dundun player with Dr. Lee Percussion and Electronics for almost three years. A former kit drummer, Chris returned to music after a 17-year hiatus first as a student of Dr. Lee’s and later by taking workshops with Michael Markus, Famoudou Konate, Billy Nankouma Konate and others. By playing in Guinean dance classes, he learned how these powerful and energetic rhythms connect with the rapid yet graceful movements of this art form. With each live performance, Chris looks forward to the thrill of sharing the music and energy with his band-mates and the crowd.
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LEE GARBUTT (aka DR. LEE) is a percussion-based musician and teacher. Inspired by West African rhythms fused with modern electronic beats and sounds in the everyday world, Lee creates music for dance, art installations and other music projects. His credits include performing for Cirque du Soleil and collaborating with The Souljazz Orchestra, Antizario, and the Peter Hum Jazz Ensemble. He is also the curator of the WESTFEST TAM TAM since 2006. One of Dr. Lee's songs was also featured On CBC Television's The Greatest Canadian Invention. In 2003, he released his first CD, Orange Galaxy. He travelled to Guinea Conakry, West Africa to study with djembe master Aboubacar Fatouabou Camara in 2004. Lee is currently performing, teaching djembe classes and working on releasing a new album in 2010.
YANNICK NDONGMO was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Both of her parents are from Cameroon, Africa where music is an integral part of everyday life. She comes from a family of singers, many of whom got their first start singing at school and in church choirs. Her love of music has given her many opportunities to perform for audiences, including during a trip to China in 2007 at the annual International Cultural Tourism Festival. In 2008 Yannick started writing lyrics and recording vocal tracks for Dr. Lee Percussion and Electronics, where she also indulges in her love of rhythms and percussion. The rest as they say is history. In addition to performing and recording with Dr. Lee, she can often be found playing the djembe with children and their families at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.MARIO GAUVREAU studied trumpet with Jean Louis Chatel, a member of the Montreal symphony orchestra from 1974 to 1977. For the next decade, Mario honed his trumpet skills on live radio and television with both Radio-Canada and Télé-Québec. After his trumpet studies, Mario studied drums with Lou Williamson, who has an international reputation as an outstanding show drummer. A natural performer, Mario has played percussion with “Bossa,” a lively Latin jazz quintet. He has also played with composers Robert Grégoire, Marie Nicole Groulx, Stéphane McNicol and Nathalie Nadon. It was in 2006 that Mario started his djembe studies with Dr. Lee. Today, Mario keeps the beat strong with his djembe and kenkeni and plays his trumpet with sizzling style.CHRIS KREPSKI, an Ottawa native, has been a djembe and dundun player with Dr. Lee Percussion and Electronics for almost three years. A former kit drummer, Chris returned to music after a 17-year hiatus first as a student of Dr. Lee’s and later by taking workshops with Michael Markus, Famoudou Konate, Billy Nankouma Konate and others. By playing in Guinean dance classes, he learned how these powerful and energetic rhythms connect with the rapid yet graceful movements of this art form. With each live performance, Chris looks forward to the thrill of sharing the music and energy with his band-mates and the crowd.
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