Don Leppard was among the busiest musicians in the city for four decades, adding his signature timekeeping to nearly a dozen well-known jazz groups.
He was a drummer’s drummer, and known for his steadiness behind the kit; rarely flashy, his composure was his calling card. Leppard died Monday at 79, following a short stint in hospital. Leppard is survived by partner Mary Menzies, son Jeff Leppard, daughter Jenn Douglass, and grandchildren Michael and Brianna Douglass, among other extended family.
His passing left many in the Vancouver Island music community in shock this week, as he remained busy right until shortly before his death from complications brought on by a variety of illnesses. “The West Coast jazz scene has lost a legend,” said multi-instrumentalist Daniel Lapp, who played in many outfits with Leppard over several decades.
“Don made the Dan Lapp Quartet swing like crazy over 20 years. He always played with a devilish grin, and no one played [Frank Sinatra’s] Old Devil Moon quite like him.”
Leppard was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and was raised in a musical family. His twin brother, Ron, was a noted saxophonist and the Leppard brothers were active in the Alberta music scene during the 1950s. Leppard eventually became an accomplished military band member, and spent a combined 26 years with the Air Command Band in Winnipeg, Royal Canadian Air Force Band in Toronto, and the Naden Band in Victoria.
In 1980, he received his certificate of arranging from Boston’s Berklee School of Music, and upon retiring from military service in 1986, went on to perform in a string of successful Victoria bands, many of which ran concurrently. By his side until his death was Victoria bassist Joey Smith, who asked Leppard to be the best man at his wedding in 1988.
“He always had real steady timing, and took care of business,” Smith said. “He was a team player in a rhythm section. But when it was time to take a solo, he’d step up to the plate.”
Leppard taught himself how to drum by listening to Buddy Rich recordings in the early 1950s. A quick student, his first cross-border gig came in 1957, when Leppard was 15. That set him on a path from which he would not waver, according to his son, Jeff Leppard.
“He was always practicing. That’s all he’s done, his whole life — bang the drums. That was his métier. That’s what he did.”
The Don Leppard Quartet and the 17-piece Don Leppard Big Band, both formed in Victoria, were imminently successful, leading to national and international headlining tours in addition to dates backing Johnny Mathis, Engelbert Humperdinck, the Temptations, and the Moody Blues. His name appears on more than 50 studio recordings. He also taped upwards of 600 television appearances, according to his family.
Locally, he is best known as a core member of Victoria acts Dixieland Express and CanUS Jazz Band. He also played a key role in lineups led by jazz heavyweights George Essihos, Al Pease, Louise Rose and Ian McDougall, among others. In this capacity, few could match his talents.
“He was always gigging with other artists,” Jeff Leppard said. “If a singer needed a back-up of two or three people, it was usually dad on the drums.”
Smith played with his longtime friend a few times over the summer, but further gigs were scuttled when Leppard fractured, in separate incidents, his humerus and hip. The latter injury, on July 24, sent him to the Cowichan District Hospital, where he would remain until his death.
Leppard moved to Shawnigan Lake in 2020, where he shared a home with his partne Menzies. The pandemic cut down his playing opportunities, before his health began to wane, his children said. He also battled pneumonia and COVID-19 in recent months.
A date for his public celebration will soon be announced.
