Lennie Dale E O Sambalanço Trio

Leonardo La Ponzina, better known as Lennie Dale (July 21, 1937 – August 9, 1994) was an American-Brazilian choreographer, dancer, actor, and singer of Italian background.

== Biography ==

Dale was born on July 21, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York. He began his professional career as an actor on the children's' program Star Lime Kids alongside Connie Francis.

He gave dances classes from 14 to 21 years old, including while in grade school. He became a part of the cast of West Side Story on Broadway. Afterwards, he moved to London, where he was hired by a business partner of Shirley Bassey, giving performances in Europe and participating, alongside Gene Kelly, on Italian television programs. He was responsible for the choreography of more than 500 dancers on Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, who later became his friend.

Dale first went to Brazil in 1960, invited by revue theater director Carlos Machado to create the choreography for a musical. Afterwards, he went on to emigrate and stay in the country for long periods of time.

He became a well-known figure in the 1960s and 1970s for his performances together with the founding artists of the bossa nova movement. He directed various specials shown on Beco das Garrafas, a hotspot for Bohemians and bossa nova music.

In 1973, during the height of the military dictatorship in Brazil, Dale founded the androgynous group Dzi Croquettes, which mixed dance with theater. Due to its irreverent sense of humor, the group became a symbol of the counterculture during that period. The history of the group was made into a documentary of the same name in 2009.

Dale travelled constantly back to the United States, where he directed specials with artists such as Liza Minnelli.

Dale had suffered from AIDS and travelled to the United States in 1988 after he discovered he had the disease to receive free medical assistance, counseled by his own doctor. He died on August 9, 1994 from the disease at Coler Specialty Hospital in New York at 57 years old.

== Discography ==

Um show de bossa… Lennie Dale com os Bossa Três (1964) Elenco LP

Lennie Dale e o Sambalanço Trio-Gravado no Zum Zum (1965) Elenco LP

Berimbau/O pato Lennie Dale e o Sambalanço Trio (1965) Elenco Compacto simples

Lennie Dale (1965) Elenco LP

A 3ª Dimensão de Lennie Dale Lennie Dale e Trio 3D (1967) Elenco LP

O máximo da Bossa Vários artistas (1967) Rare Elenco LP

== Filmography ==

Dzi Croquettes, by Tatiana Issa and Raphael Alvarez

== Portrayal in media ==

Júlio Andrade portrayed Dale in the 2016 film Elis, which was based on the life of Elis Regina.

== References ==

Source: Wikipedia ↗

Sambalanço Trio was a Brazilian samba-jazz group formed by Cesar Camargo Mariano (piano), Humberto Clayber (bass) and Airto Moreira (drums). The band started to play in 1964 and lasted for about two years. Their albums are considered some of the most important works of that period and influenced many other groups of samba and jazz.

== History ==

The group was created in 1964, in São Paulo, Brazil. They played in the opening show of João Sebastião Bar, one of the foremost bossa nova nightclubs in the city, where they became the favourite attraction. In this nightclub, the group met the American dancer Lennie Dale, a future collaborator. The Sambalanço Trio offered a fusion of bossa nova and jazz, which became a cornerstone of Brazilian popular music of the period.

In the same year the band was formed, it released two albums: the first was Sambalanço Trio; the second, Samblues. In 1965, they joined musician Raul de Souza and recorded À vontade mesmo. Also in 1965, the group recorded its fourth album, Reencontro com Sambalanço Trio.

In 1965, Sambalanço Trio with Lennie Dale collaborated in a theatrical presentation performed in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo for eight months. This work was later recorded and released as Lennie Dale & Sambalanço Trio no Zum Zum, earning awards by Jornal do Brasil as Best Album and Best Show.

In 1965, the group's original pianist Cesar Camargo left, following his soon to be wife. Airto Moreira asked Hermeto Pascoal to replace Camargo, to which Pascoal agreed on the condition they rename Sambalanço Trio to Sambrasa Trio. In this new formation with Airto Moreira, Humberto Clayber and Hermeto Pascoal, Sambrasa Trio released Em Som Maior (1965). The new formation lasted about a year

Sambalanço Trio dissolved in 1965. Immediately after, Airto Moreira together with leftist protest singer Geraldo Vandré founded the hugely influential Quarteto Novo with Hermeto Pascoal, Heraldo do Monte (guitar and viola caipira) and Theo de Barros (bass). Following Quarteto Novo's dissolution in 1969, Airto moved to the United States with his wife and singer Flora Purim, starting a successful solo career.

Following their work in Sambalanço Trio, Cesar Camargo Mariano became a member of Som Três and an arranger for singers Wilson Simonal and Elis Regina. Humberto Clayber continued playing in other samba-jazz bands.

== Discography ==

1964: Sambalanço Trio (Audio Fidelity)

1965: Improviso Negro (Ubatuqui)

1965: À vontade mesmo (RCA) with Raul de Souza

1965: Reencontro com Sambalanço Trio (Som Maior)

1965: Lennie Dale & Sambalanço Trio no Zum Zum (Elenco) with Lennie Dale

== References ==

== External links ==

Allmusic

Source: Wikipedia ↗