Tragic jazz slaying
GRAMMY WINNER ID’D AS VIC IN LOVE TRIANGLE
A Grammy-winning jazz drummer who played in venues around the world was the man killed during a scuffle Sunday with a romantic rival in the stairwell of a Bronx apartment building, cops and a relative said.
Lawrence Leathers, 37, lost consciousness after Sterling Aguilar allegedly placed him in a chokehold in the hallway of the victim’s home on E. 141st St. in Mott Haven. Cops said Leathers’ girlfriend, Lisa Harris, was also punching him in the head during the brawl.
Leathers collapsed and died. His body was discovered about 11:40 a.m. Sunday.
Aguilar, 28, of Midwood, Brooklyn, and Harris, 47, who lived with Leathers, were charged in Bronx Criminal Court with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
The medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death. Charges against Aguilar could be upgraded.
Leathers’ landlord, who didn’t give her name, told the Daily News she found him lying on his side Sunday morning. “I touched his neck and I said, ‘This boy is dead.’
“They had a party the night before, and I figured he just OD’d,” she said. “Oh my God, there was a murder in my house.”
Harris told her Leathers attacked her, and she “sat on him to restrain him.”
Harris and Leathers were celebrating Harris’ graduation from CUNY, the landlord said. “She got her master’s. She was going to be a schoolteacher,” the landlord said. “We’re all in shock.”
Leathers lived with Harris for years, but the landlord had no idea they were dating, as she often brought boyfriends home.
“The first time I heard he was her boyfriend was when she told the cops. I nearly fell over. I never saw any romance between the two of them,” the landlord said. “She lied to me. She told me he was her cousin.”
Leathers is best known in jazz circles for his connections to pianist Aaron Diehl and singer Cécile McLorin Salvant.
Leathers, a Lansing, Mich., native, won two Grammy awards backing Salvant, as a member of the Aaron Diehl Trio. His most recent Grammy was in 2017 for “Dreams and Daggers,” much of which was recorded live at the Village Vanguard in Manhattan.
“He was considered an institution in the jazz community,” said Leathers’ brother, Brandon, a gospel hip-hop artist.
Brandon said his brother picked up a pair of drumsticks when he was 6 and never put them down. He also taught himself how to play several other instruments and earned a coveted spot at the Juilliard School, only to walk away after just two years to pursue his craft professionally.
“We all thought he lost his mind when he decided to quit Juilliard,” Brandon said. “Because no one leaves Juilliard. But he was very adamant about his decision. He made his move and never looked back.”
What followed were latenight sessions at Smalls Jazz Club and Dizzy’s Club CocaCola in Manhattan and world tours.
Smalls owner Spike Wilner called Leathers “a positive, joyful spirit.”
“Lawrence was a beloved member of the jazz community in New York City,” Wilner said. “He had the respect of the elder musicians as well as the younger guys.”