When Will Lee arrived at the Frost School of Music in 1969, he had already played piano, drums, trumpet, and violin, and was studying flute and French horn. None of it inspired him. “I was kind of flying blind,” said Lee. Then a faculty member suggested he focus on electric bass, which Lee had been playing professionally until dawn, six nights a week.
That advice was life-changing for Lee, who in 1971 joined the jazz-rock fusion group Dreams, launching a wildly successful career that culminated in his being named Frost School's 2025 Alumnus of the Year. While he is best-known as the bassist for over 30 years on the Late Show with David Letterman, Lee has played on hundreds of recordings with a dizzying array of rock, pop, and jazz artists, including Chaka Khan, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, James Brown, Barbra Streisand, Alicia Keys, The Bee Gees, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Weather Report, and fellow Frost School alumnus Pat Metheny. He is in the Musician's Hall of Fame in Nashville, and played or recorded with all four of the Beatles.
“Will Lee is a shining example of the artist that the Frost School endeavors to cultivate,” said Dean Shelton G. Berg. “He elevates every musical experience in a way that is palpable to all of those performing with him. His musical breadth is astounding, and his stage presence is energizing. He is one of the true greats in our business.”
Lee, whose father was William Lee, the visionary dean of the Frost School from 1964 to 1982, returned in April of 2025 to accept his award during the Frost School's Centennial Celebration and to lead an electrifying tribute to his legendary classmate and fellow bass player, Jaco Pastorius, at the Centennial Celebration Concert.
“Dig in deep and good things will happen,” Lee said. “I just adore playing music all the time, and I don’t want to do anything else.”
