Larnell Lewis

Larnell Lewis (born March 22, 1984) is a Canadian drummer, composer, producer, and educator. He is best known for playing drums with the Denton, TX-based jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy.

Biography Born in Toronto, Ontario, Lewis started playing drums at age 2 and was first introduced to drums in church. This is where he began to learn to play a variety of styles including gospel music, soca, calypso, reggae, zouk and funk. He also studied electric bass and piano to further his knowledge of the melodic and harmonic aspects of music making. Lewis’ parents were originally from St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. In 2017 Lewis was named one of the Top 35 artists under 35 by CBC Music, and also received the award for Emerging Jazz Artist from the Ontario Arts Foundation. Lewis served as musical director for a performance during the Toronto International Film Festival's premiere of the critically acclaimed documentary Quincy, about famed producer Quincy Jones, where he led performances from the likes of Yebba Smith, Mark Ronson, and Chaka Khan.

In 2018 Lewis released his first solo album, In The Moment, on which he played bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, melodica, percussion, piano, synthesizer and vocals, in addition to writing and producing.

In February 2021 Lewis recorded a video for the YouTube channel Drumeo in which he listened to the Metallica song "Enter Sandman" for the first time, then played the drum part of the entire song after having heard it one time. The video went viral, with over 19 million views as of February 2025.

Session work As of September 2022, Lewis is an active member of the jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy. He has also played with Laila Biali, Fred Hammond, Michael Brecker, Matt Dusk, Robi Botos, Molly Johnson, Elizabeth Shepherd, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Barbra Lica, and Tia Brazda.

Lewis's performance on Snarky Puppy's 2014 album We Like It Here was notable because he learned most of the songs on the airplane flight to the Netherlands, having only played two of them before the recording date. and Root Structure by jazz bassist Mike Downes.

Equipment Lewis is endorsed by Yamaha Drums, Zildjian, Promark, Evans, D’Addario, and Latin Percussion.

Discography

Solo In the Moment (2018)

With Snarky Puppy We Like It Here (GroundUP, 2014) Tracing Light (2010), From Sea to Sky (2007) Tia Brazda – Daydream (2018) 2017 Emerging Jazz Artist Award, Toronto Arts Foundation