Who killed Lenny Breau?

[Emily]

Agreed.

[Stickman]

I'm a new guy on here but I saw this thread and I feel like I need to resurrect it one last time. I believe I know who killed Lenny Breau and it wasn't his wife Jewel. I can talk about it now because the man is now also dead. His name was David Sniderman AKA David Jordan AKA David Jove AKA The Acid King. I met David in 1980 when I was technical director of a cable TV show called New Wave Theatre. The show was a half hour weekly music program that started out on local community access cable in Santa Monica and was picked up by USA network which gave it nationwide distribution. It was shot at Leon Russell's Paradise studio/soundstage in Burbank where I worked and helped build. David was the producer and creator of the show and it featured on screen host actor/musician Peter Ivers. NWT was a live showcase for new wave and punk bands and was considered very underground, counterculture and hip at the time. It was not unusual to see Ray Manzarek, David Lynch and other Hollywood music and film types show up to watch the tapings. David was scary intelligent with a commanding presence. And amazing to watch him barking out orders like a drill sergeant to a hundred people and pulling the show tapings together when they always seemed on the verge of chaos. I worked closely with David and spent hundreds of hours editing the shows together and would run into him off set in various scenes around Hollywood. David was also a black belt in 9 styles. One day in 1983 the host Peter Ivers was found dead in his loft bludgeoned to death and that was the end of New Wave Theatre. His murder was never solved but many people in that scene thought it was David in some kind of unrequited gay advance. You see Peter was a bit effeminate but definitely not gay. About 6 months later I ran into David at a club in Hollywood and he invited me over to his house where he got extremely buzzed and told me he dreamed he killed Peter. I excused myself and tried to avoid him from then on.

Then in late summer 1984 I was in Nashville for some sessions and when I returned, Al Carness down at Valley Arts music store where I'd taken a seminar with Lenny one time, informed me Lenny had drowned. That night by chance I ran into David at an art gallery opening in Hollywood and he was high as a kite and walking with a cane. He said "I lost a friend a couple days ago - Lenny Breau". I said: "I know. He drowned" and how do you know Lenny? He said "I just do". He then asked me if I knew how many ways you can kill a man with a cane. I said "actually no I don't". He proceeded to run thru his martial arts routine with the cane right there in the art gallery and ended up hooking me by the back of my neck with the cane and pulling me towards him and catching the front of my throat with the edge of his hand. He then said "Lenny was strangled" and released me. I bailed immediately along with most of the crowd in the art gallery. A couple days later on a Friday the autopsy results were released and revealed Lenny had indeed been strangled. A couple days after that there was a memorial jam down at Donte's. Joe Pass was there, Joe Diorio was there. Herb Ellis, Bob Bain from the Tonight Show band, Carol Kaye - who'd introduced me to Lenny a few years before was there as well as a bunch of others including David who got up and said a few words. When it shut down, Jewel and I sat on the curb in front of Dante's and talked till dawn about everything that happened. She said it was a coke dealer who was close to Lenny but she'd never met him except to talk to him by phone when he was trying to locate Lenny. I started to realize that Peter Ivers and Lenny Breau had similar personality traits and they both had a sort of slightly effeminate speaking voice tho neither was gay which may or may not mean anything. The next day I called the police and told a homicide detective named Byrd that he needed to check out a guy named David Jove in reference to the Ivers and Breau murders which were a year apart and I told him everything I knew and explained that I may be the only guy who happened to be in both those scenes and told him what I thought and that it was way more than a hunch. I also told him not to mention my name because David was real smart, would put that together right away and come after me. Sure enough, the cop mentioned my name, David called me in the middle of the night and said a cop had come to him and asked about me. He said: "I told him you were OK so you don't have anything to worry about" He then said "hey man we gotta get together soon and burn one..." I told him I was getting ready to go on the road with Leon Russell but I'd catch up down the line. Long story short, David was radioactive in Hollywood from then on and never had another shot at producing TV. I never saw David again but never stopped worrying that I'd run into him at the House of Blues or something. A couple years after that I ran into Lee Ving (James Capallero) who was the lead singer in 'Fear' a punk rock band that was a regular on New Wave Theatre and he was now a country singer in band called 'Range War' in L.A. We had a chat about David Jove and I told him what I'd surmised and he said "You're not the only one who was in both of those scenes". Lee told me that he'd been a bartender at Donte's in the mid 80s and that David was a regular and coke supplier to various folks, had seen David and Lenny doing a little business and that Lenny often 'ran a tab' with David. When nothing came of either murder case, I felt I'd done my part and should just keep my mouth shut and put it behind me. I knew Jewell pretty well and I don't believe she could have or would have done that. She was a pretty good gal. I never saw her again after that night at Donte's.

After looking over my shoulder for years, I finally got a phone call thru a friend of a friend that David had died of liver cancer in 2004 and only then did I feel like talking about all this sordid stuff again.

In 2008 a book about the life and death of Peter Ivers came out called "In Heaven Everything Is Fine" after Ivers' tune in the David Lynch film Eraserhead. In the book David Jove is fingered by many others as the Peter's killer. Incidentally, way back in 1967 the Stones were famously busted at Keith's Redlands house in England which was a setup by an American drug dealer turned informant to save his own ass who went by the name "The Acid King". You guessed it - the acid king was David Jove. RIP Lenny. I tried

[citizenk74]

I was a big fan of New Wave Theater, first thing when I got home after gigs was watch it. Great way to unwind.

As to the LB stuff, I can't say, but have no reason to doubt it. Tragic, in any case.

[sgcim]

I'm a new guy on here but I saw this thread and I feel like I need to resurrect it one last time. I believe I know who killed Lenny Breau and it wasn't his wife Jewel. I can talk about it now because the man is now also dead. His name was David Sniderman AKA David Jordan AKA David Jove AKA The Acid King. I met David in 1980 when I was technical director of a cable TV show called New Wave Theatre. The show was a half hour weekly music program that started out on local community access cable in Santa Monica and was picked up by USA network which gave it nationwide distribution. It was shot at Leon Russell's Paradise studio/soundstage in Burbank where I worked and helped build. David was the producer and creator of the show and it featured on screen host actor/musician Peter Ivers. NWT was a live showcase for new wave and punk bands and was considered very underground, counterculture and hip at the time. It was not unusual to see Ray Manzarek, David Lynch and other Hollywood music and film types show up to watch the tapings. David was scary intelligent with a commanding presence. And amazing to watch him barking out orders like a drill sergeant to a hundred people and pulling the show tapings together when they always seemed on the verge of chaos. I worked closely with David and spent hundreds of hours editing the shows together and would run into him off set in various scenes around Hollywood. David was also a black belt in 9 styles. One day in 1983 the host Peter Ivers was found dead in his loft bludgeoned to death and that was the end of New Wave Theatre. His murder was never solved but many people in that scene thought it was David in some kind of unrequited gay advance. You see Peter was a bit effeminate but definitely not gay. About 6 months later I ran into David at a club in Hollywood and he invited me over to his house where he got extremely buzzed and told me he dreamed he killed Peter. I excused myself and tried to avoid him from then on.

Then in late summer 1984 I was in Nashville for some sessions and when I returned, Al Carness down at Valley Arts music store where I'd taken a seminar with Lenny one time, informed me Lenny had drowned. That night by chance I ran into David at an art gallery opening in Hollywood and he was high as a kite and walking with a cane. He said "I lost a friend a couple days ago - Lenny Breau". I said: "I know. He drowned" and how do you know Lenny? He said "I just do". He then asked me if I knew how many ways you can kill a man with a cane. I said "actually no I don't". He proceeded to run thru his martial arts routine with the cane right there in the art gallery and ended up hooking me by the back of my neck with the cane and pulling me towards him and catching the front of my throat with the edge of his hand. He then said "Lenny was strangled" and released me. I bailed immediately along with most of the crowd in the art gallery. A couple days later on a Friday the autopsy results were released and revealed Lenny had indeed been strangled. A couple days after that there was a memorial jam down at Donte's. Joe Pass was there, Joe Diorio was there. Herb Ellis, Bob Bain from the Tonight Show band, Carol Kaye - who'd introduced me to Lenny a few years before was there as well as a bunch of others including David who got up and said a few words. When it shut down, Jewel and I sat on the curb in front of Dante's and talked till dawn about everything that happened. She said it was a coke dealer who was close to Lenny but she'd never met him except to talk to him by phone when he was trying to locate Lenny. I started to realize that Peter Ivers and Lenny Breau had similar personality traits and they both had a sort of slightly effeminate speaking voice tho neither was gay which may or may not mean anything. The next day I called the police and told a homicide detective named Byrd that he needed to check out a guy named David Jove in reference to the Ivers and Breau murders which were a year apart and I told him everything I knew and explained that I may be the only guy who happened to be in both those scenes and told him what I thought and that it was way more than a hunch. I also told him not to mention my name because David was real smart, would put that together right away and come after me. Sure enough, the cop mentioned my name, David called me in the middle of the night and said a cop had come to him and asked about me. He said: "I told him you were OK so you don't have anything to worry about" He then said "hey man we gotta get together soon and burn one..." I told him I was getting ready to go on the road with Leon Russell but I'd catch up down the line. Long story short, David was radioactive in Hollywood from then on and never had another shot at producing TV. I never saw David again but never stopped worrying that I'd run into him at the House of Blues or something. A couple years after that I ran into Lee Ving (James Capallero) who was the lead singer in 'Fear' a punk rock band that was a regular on New Wave Theatre and he was now a country singer in band called 'Range War' in L.A. We had a chat about David Jove and I told him what I'd surmised and he said "You're not the only one who was in both of those scenes". Lee told me that he'd been a bartender at Donte's in the mid 80s and that David was a regular and coke supplier to various folks, had seen David and Lenny doing a little business and that Lenny often 'ran a tab' with David. When nothing came of either murder case, I felt I'd done my part and should just keep my mouth shut and put it behind me. I knew Jewell pretty well and I don't believe she could have or would have done that. She was a pretty good gal. I never saw her again after that night at Donte's.

After looking over my shoulder for years, I finally got a phone call thru a friend of a friend that David had died of liver cancer in 2004 and only then did I feel like talking about all this sordid stuff again.

In 2008 a book about the life and death of Peter Ivers came out called "In Heaven Everything Is Fine" after Ivers' tune in the David Lynch film Eraserhead. In the book David Jove is fingered by many others as the Peter's killer. Incidentally, way back in 1967 the Stones were famously busted at Keith's Redlands house in England which was a setup by an American drug dealer turned informant to save his own ass who went by the name "The Acid King". You guessed it - the acid king was David Jove. RIP Lenny. I tried

I googled Jove, and came up with the fact that he left Canada because he was wanted for a felony charge. He hung out with a lot of violent punk-rockers, and was known to be capable of violence himself.
One article said that a possible motive for Ivers' murder could have been that Jove was very mad at Ivers, because he intended to leave the TV show at the time of his murder.
A book has been written by Ed Ochs about Jove called "Freedom Spy: David Jove and the Meaning of Existence"(2012). I wonder what Ochs thinks about your theory?
Although immediate family members are the most likely suspects in most murders, it would be difficult for a woman to strangle and transport LB's body to the pool. I don't know if Lenny had a lot of money, or had an insurance policy. If not, the drug aspect of the case seems more likely.
This reminds me of another mysterious death, the case of Gary McFarland, which was 'solved' many years after the fact.

[joelf]

This reminds me of another mysterious death, the case of Gary McFarland, which was 'solved' many years after the fact.

What did happen with McFarland? I always smelled a rat about the bar story.

Gotta be suspicious of wacky musician 'murder' stories though: Like the one about Art Blakey killing Bird---yeah, right?...

[sgcim]

What did happen with McFarland? I always smelled a rat about the bar story.

Gotta be suspicious of wacky musician 'murder' stories though: Like the one about Art Blakey killing Bird---yeah, right?...

He died in 1971 after somehow ingesting methadone in a drink in a bar in NYC's GreenWitch Village- Club 55.
A documentary, "This Is Gary McFarland", said that the methadone belonged to a skanky, junkie,alchie, poet/writer (he co-wrote, "Candy", with the equally skanky Terry Southern)named Mason Hoffenberg.
In an interview, Hoffenberg (who died in 1986) was asked about writer David Burnett. He said that he liked him. Then the interviewer said that he died recently. MH answered, "Yeah, I killed him."
The interviewer said, "Excuse me?"
MH then told the story about going into a club in NYC with two bags- one with clean underwear, and the other with two bottles of methadone. He was talking with David Burnett, and then left the club, but forgot the bag with the methadone. He said David Burnett and some other guy(McFarland) drank the methadone, and both died of heart attacks.
Gene Lees believed he had poisoned their drinks with the methadone, but the cops never investigated, and the case was closed.
The director of the doc says we'll probably never know the true story...

[joelf]

Ugh. Sorry I asked.

Think I'll stay with Mason Reese...

[sgcim]

Ugh. Sorry I asked.

Think I'll stay with Mason Reese...

Yeah, he's also a suspect.

[Emily Lisa]

Hi folks. I just ran into a guitar player here in Nashville (I'm a retired trumpet player) and we soon found that we both knew Lenny 'back in the day.' He told me that Lenny has become a widely known legend as he certainly deserved to be. But I'm astounded at the amount of info that came up when I 'Googled' him up. Wow! That's how I found this forum.

Throughout the 70's and into the 80's Lenny spent about 3 months every year in Toronto, 3 months in L.A., 3 in Nashville, and 3 in NY. That seemed to be his life at the time. Several of us took turns being Lenny's "keeper" while he was in Nashville. I would go and find him passed out on the floor of a dirty apartment, bring him around, then take him out and put food in him to keep him alive. With Lenny, you just never knew when you'd get the bad news that we all knew was coming.

He met Jewel and things changed...............for the better. I'm not challenging the negative opinions of her shared here and elsewhere, but I'm here to testify that there was another side to the story as well. She cleaned him up, got him sober and healthy, and got him focused again on his career. He even got straight enough for me to take him into a studio for some recording that I have never bothered to mix down. Great music, of course, but to get the real essence of his genius, you needed to have him in a small club atmosphere, surrounded by his friends. The studio just couldn't bring out the natural "performer" in this man. Incidentally, another mutual friend, the late Richard Cotten, did exactly that.............recorded miles and miles of live performances, most of which Richard accompanied Lenny on bass. I wonder where those recordings ever ended up.

The Nashville Jazz Machine was an 18-piece rehearsal band made up of Nashville's 'A-team' of studio players back then. As I was privileged to serve as the band's leader, I constantly got calls from club owners to help them find and book small groups for the resurgence in jazz popularity we were enjoying at the time. Jewel would call me from L.A., tell me they would be in Nashville in a couple of weeks, and ask me to get Lenny some work. She was so protective of him she would always remind me to have a room away from the crowd that we could rush Lenny to between sets, before the dealers and ignorant hangers-on could get to him and get him high. He had no self control whatsoever.

Now, maybe Jewel was his killer, and maybe not. But what I saw was a woman dedicated to Lenny's protection and well-being. Lenny was reported to have been strangled. Do you know how much physical strength it takes to strangle another human being? Do you realize how much time one must hold the victims throat shut? Much more time and strength than the movies portray, and certainly much more than most women are capable of. Besides, Lenny had a short neck, and that would make strangulation even more physically difficult for anyone to succeed with. And forget the "inheritance" motive...........Lenny never had 2 quarters to rub together all the years I knew him.

I hope you guitar guys don't mind this old trumpet player encroaching into your domain here. But I just thought you might like to hear another side to the tragic saga surrounding the genius we were blessed to know, Lenny Breau.

Dave Converse

As most psychopathic abusers, Jewel could sometimes appear “normal” and perhaps even caring. I’ve spent decades researching for my documentary films, profiling my late father. I’ve spoken to dozens of people, from all over North America who described witnessing the mental and physical abuse. Jewel was beyond controlling, she stalked my dad; literally hunted him down when he would try to leave her. She often attacked him physically, leaving scratches and bruises that many people saw. There were two restraining orders against her, which she ignored. Once she was seen with her hands around his neck in a rage,in Nashville, backstage at a gig. I could go on and on. She’s an absolutely insane, big woman who wouldn’t have had a hard time overpowering my dad. It’s sickening and unjust that she remains free to this day. She’s living the miserable life that’s fitting for a murderer, I’ve heard and I can’t say that doesn’t bring me some comfort.

[sgcim]

As most psychopathic abusers, Jewel could sometimes appear “normal” and perhaps even caring. I’ve spent decades researching for my documentary films, profiling my late father. I’ve spoken to dozens of people, from all over North America who described witnessing the mental and physical abuse. Jewel was beyond controlling, she stalked my dad; literally hunted him down when he would try to leave her. She often attacked him physically, leaving scratches and bruises that many people saw. There were two restraining orders against her, which she ignored. Once she was seen with her hands around his neck in a rage,in Nashville, backstage at a gig. I could go on and on. She’s an absolutely insane, big woman who wouldn’t have had a hard time overpowering my dad. It’s sickening and unjust that she remains free to this day. She’s living the miserable life that’s fitting for a murderer, I’ve heard and I can’t say that doesn’t bring me some comfort.

Can the case be re-opened?

[Sam Sherry]

I’ve spent decades researching for my documentary films, profiling my late father.

However belated, condolences for your loss. Lotta people in Southern Maine remember Lenny well and positively.

Can the case be re-opened?

No statute of limitation on murder, but any type of legal case gets harder and harder to prove as time passes.

Here's a bit of Lenny Breau:

[Tal_175]

As most psychopathic abusers, Jewel could sometimes appear “normal” and perhaps even caring. I’ve spent decades researching for my documentary films, profiling my late father. I’ve spoken to dozens of people, from all over North America who described witnessing the mental and physical abuse. Jewel was beyond controlling, she stalked my dad; literally hunted him down when he would try to leave her. She often attacked him physically, leaving scratches and bruises that many people saw. There were two restraining orders against her, which she ignored. Once she was seen with her hands around his neck in a rage,in Nashville, backstage at a gig. I could go on and on. She’s an absolutely insane, big woman who wouldn’t have had a hard time overpowering my dad. It’s sickening and unjust that she remains free to this day. She’s living the miserable life that’s fitting for a murderer, I’ve heard and I can’t say that doesn’t bring me some comfort.

Are you really the director of "The Genius of Lenny Breau"? It's a great documentary. So many people I recommended that film to, who weren't even jazz listeners, became fans of Lenny Breau's music.

[wiliam 5371]

I read "One Long Tune". I'm a LB fan and met him briefly one time.

[citizenk74]

I read "One Long Tune". I'm a LB fan and met him briefly one time.

[gjduarte]

Lenny Breau was from Maine, I played the Poland Spring Inn with his mother Betty Cote. He was drowned by his x wife in his LA swimming pool. Police just couldn’t prove it. SUCKS. He was a finger skill legend. Saw him several times. Chet Atkins did a special on him, a great documentary.

GJD

[Zappa68]

I don't think he strangled himself lol.

[Zappa68]

I bet he was nodding out on the couch ? after shooting up and his wife took advantage of the situation whereupon strangling him. Then she somehow lifted him into the swimming ???? pool making it look like accidental Drowning. Only thing is if she was a little petite thing she'd need help moving his body. I'm not sure how much Lenny weighed but a body can be a heavy thing to lift and maneuver.

[Zappa68]

Lee Morgan's woman killed him.

[Zappa68]

They probably had a very volatile relationship a la crime of passion. And ? since Lenny was always sedated he would've been venerable to a strangled attack. Have you guys noticed pics don't show up. They're replaced with question marks.

[Zappa68]

Why blame Canada? He was killed in Los Angeles.

[Zappa68]

If that's what you call an adult, fine. Yes I am an adult. As such I don't like metal and I don't like (c)rap-hop. Get used to it.

That's a bit harsh to denigrate a whole genre of music bro.

[Zappa68]

Ugh...anyhow back to the original topic...

That biography, "One Long Tune", is a great read. I highly recommended it to anyone - especially to any of us here in Toronto! There are a lot of great stories from when he was playing with local guys around here. I actually know a local sax player who actually used to play with him and as such has a few incredible stories about Lenny and his playing. This guy actually claims to have been the one who taught Lenny McCoy Tyner's tune, "Visions". Now I of course can't verify it and it's definitely not in the book - but it makes for an interesting anecdote on his part anyways!

Evan

Dude that's so cool. You probably know the Rush cats too. Toronto has a great cultural history especially musically speaking.

[Zappa68]

I actually KNOW who killed him. One of my former teachers and fellow Las Vegas jazz guitarist Raj Rathor, who helped write Lenny's bio, and who housed Lenny in his final days, told me it WAS his wife, and out of jealousy and metal anguish

Occams razor my friend. Makes perfect sense to me.

[Zappa68]

Read this excerp from "One Long Tune,"
One long tune: the life and music of ... - Google Books

Page 268-271, the last few days of Lenny's life. Raj told me specifically about that day during one of our lessons together.

He said the last time he saw Lenny play, Lenny's wife came and interrupted his set, and it pissed him off. There was clearly tension between the two, but Lenny decided he was going back to Jewel. That was the last he was heard from other than Joe Diorio.

The next thing you know, he was killed. The ONLY person who was with Lenny was Jewel, whom he had gotten in an argument with earlier on, and she was enraged. There was clearly no struggle when he died. His guitar or other possesions were not taken, so one could possibly rule out drug dealers ect, even though he did owe people money. The autopsy revealed that he did not die of overdose or natural causes.

Seeing that he and Jewel had a heated relationship, and she had a history of violence, which people close to him warned him of (Raj Rathor and Joe Diorio) she did kill him. How did she not get convicted? Not enough evidence. Keep in mind that forensics back then were NOT as advanced as they are today. That plus loopholes got her cleared

Yeah it's not what you know it's what you can prove. Same reason for Tupac and Biggie and even The Black Dahlia.

[Zappa68]

maybe, or maybe not.

I live in Winnipeg. I saw Lenny play many times, met him, a lot of Wpg guys took lessons from him.

He was a very nice, friendly, humble guy.

I went to a Chinese restaurant if you can believe it, Lenny was playing there, while diners were chowing down on chicken guy kew. If you ever feel like people are ignoring your music, just remember that. Lenny Breau upstaged by chicken chow mein.

but,

Lenny was playing "vision" while he lived here (I copied and learned his version of it....just the tune itself)

and he moved to Toronto after that. I spose he could have been in Toronto at some point and learned it from a sax player. or not.

The drummer (Reg Kelln) and Bass/guitar player (Ron Halldorson) who played with Lenny on his first album, still live here and play around town.



And, I agree that is a good book, very sad, and a lot like the Jaco biography.

Man that would be a dream scenario for me listening to the van Gough of guitar while eating Chinese. My two favorite things music and food. I should probably move to New Orleans. The only thing that would be better is if it was a private party.