Leon “Ndugu” Chancler, born Leon Chancler on July 1, 1952, in Shreveport, Louisiana, as the youngest of seven children, discovered his passion for drumming at age 13 while attending Gompers Junior High School in Los Angeles, where his family had relocated in 1960. After being asked to leave a classroom for rhythmically tapping on a desk, he continued to beat out rhythms in the hallway, igniting a lifelong dedication to percussion that led him to perform with Latin musician Willie Bobo and the Harold Johnson Sextet during his time at Locke High School. Chancler honed his skills through self-teaching and formal education, earning a degree in music education from California State University, Dominguez Hills, before launching a prolific career that spanned funk, R&B, soul, Latin rock, jazz, and jazz fusion from 1965 until his death.
By the time he completed college, Chancler had already collaborated with jazz luminaries like the Gerald Wilson Big Band, Herbie Hancock—who bestowed upon him the Swahili nickname “Ndugu,” meaning “earth brother,” during their time in Hancock’s Mwandishi band—and recorded alongside Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Bobby Hutcherson. His versatility as a sideman shone through in landmark sessions, including his drumming on Michael Jackson’s iconic “Billie Jean” from the 1982 album Thriller, Santana’s 1976 live album, Europe, and Keni Burke’s 1982 hit, “Risin’ to the Top.” He earned a Grammy nomination in 1982 for co-writing the Dazz Band’s “Let It Whip,” and in 1979, he formed his own ensemble, the Chocolate Jam Company, releasing albums such as Spread of the Future and Shadow Dancing. Throughout the 1980s and beyond, Chancler contributed to projects with an extraordinary roster of artists, from George Benson, Stanley Clarke, and the Crusaders to John Lee Hooker, Lionel Richie, Frank Sinatra, Donna Summer, Tina Turner, and Weather Report, blending rhythmic precision with innovative flair across genres.
Beyond the studio and stage, Chancler was a dedicated educator and mentor, serving as an adjunct assistant professor of jazz studies at the University of Southern California starting in 2006 and leading workshops at the Stanford Jazz Workshop each summer. He was a prominent member of the Percussive Arts Society, posthumously inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2020. Chancler, who had a son named Rashon Chafic with Vicki Guess and cared for his mother until her passing in 1994, succumbed to prostate cancer at his Los Angeles home on February 3, 2018, at the age of 65. His enduring legacy as a boundary-pushing drummer, composer, producer, and teacher continues to inspire, honored in tributes like the 2018 Ernie Watts Quartet album Home Light, dedicated to him.