Les Fields
(1928- )
Inducted 2004
Les Fields of Rochester, Minnesota was born in Cresco, Iowa, a town near the Turkey River. His musical history began at the age of five, playing a drum in the kindergarten rhythm band. Piano lessons in the third grade held his interest for only a year until the coronet took over in the fourth grade. Les played with orchestras from Lanesboro and Rochester, including the Mayo Clinic’s 22-piece big band, The Notochords. An event in 1968 changed his life: when someone forgot to hire a band for a Rochester Bank’s Christmas party, Les was called and he rounded up six top-notch musicians to play. That band was the debut of the Turkey River All Stars. Les Fields has gone on to be called “The Godfather of Jazz” in his hometown of Rochester.
