Obit: Teo Lemasmeyer RIP (May 2006)

Subject: Obit: Teo Lemasmeyer RIP (May 2006)
From: GUEST
Date: 17 May 06 - 11:32 AM

Teo Leyasmeyer, Hub blues promoter, pianist, passes

By Daniel Gewertz, The Boston Herald
Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - Updated: 01:58 AM EST


Teo Leyasmeyer, the respected Boston blues promoter and pianist, died yesterday afternoon at St. Elizabeth's Hospital of liver and kidney failure. He was 59.
    Death came suddenly: Mr. Leyasmeyer entered the hospital just Thursday. At first, he thought he had a prolonged flu. The exact cause of the organ failure has yet to be determined.
    Mr. Leyasmeyer was born in Germany, of Latvian parents. He began his long career in music as a pianist, and as a young man worked as bandleader for blues legends Johnny Copeland and Freddy King.
   "He was a great player," fellow blues pianist David Maxwell said. "He didn't push himself into the limelight, but in the old days, at Joe's Place (in Cambridge), he played with everyone from Howlin' Wolf to the local talent."
    Best known locally as the longtime booker of the House of Blues in Harvard Square, Mr. Leyasmeyer received high honors from The Blues Foundation in Memphis in 1997, winning the Keeping the Blues Alive Award. While other House of Blues clubs around the country were turning toward rock and pop, Mr. Leyasmeyer, a Lexington resident, continued to book both emerging roots music talent and veteran blues greats, including Otis Rush, Ike Turner, Solomon Burke and gospel's Blind Boys of Alabama.
    Warm, generous and big-hearted, Mr. Leyasmeyer was known on the Boston music scene as one of the good guys in the sometimes cutthroat music business.
    "He went out of his way to help musicians. He was amazing in that way," said legendary Boston talent booker Fred Taylor, who co-produced recent shows with Leyasmeyer at the Regent Theatre in Arlington. "He was an outstanding human being, and a devoted blues musician as well."
    Local publicist Sue Auclair called Mr. Leyasmeyer "one of the nicest people I've ever worked with."
    WBOS-FM blues disc jockey Holly Harris echoed the sentiment: "He was our angel. Everyone loved him. This is a loss for the world."
    After leaving the House of Blues when it shifted to a pop music focus in 2003, Mr. Leyasmeyer continued to work as a booker and blues pianist. He had been scheduled to play a Caribbean tour this week with the Jeff Pitchell Band.
    Those who frequented the House of Blues during the 1990s heard Mr. Leyasmeyer's expressive piano many times without realizing that the happy-looking fellow behind the keyboards was the club's booker. He was obviously in his element on stage, but never called attention to himself.
    "He never stopped playing. He played with Hubert Sumlin not long ago," said Maxwell. "And it was his identity as a musician that was the key to his being a great booker. He melded his huge blues knowledge and his business acumen."
    Mr. Leyasmeyer leaves his wife, Hege, and his daughters Lena, 14, and Lily, 8.Funeral arrangements have not been arranged yet. A concert to memorialize his life and raise funds for his family will be scheduled soon.