Growing-up in Queens, Lionel Cordew was surrounded by music inside his home, in his neighborhood, and in church.  His brothers were all involved in music, his mother sang in the gospel choir at the church where his father was the minister, and his neighborhood hosted block parties where cats like Lenny White, Marcus Miller, Omar Hakim, Najee and many others would often play.  Lionel absorbed and adapted to many styles of music, which he’s used to his benefit throughout the course of his career, as he’s recorded and toured with a diverse list of musicians, including Mike Stern, Gino Vannelli, Jeff Lorber, Roberta Flack, Bill Evans, Chuck Loeb, Chieli Minucci, Wayne Krantz, and in 2015 he replaced Lee Pearson as the drummer in the legendary jazz group, Spyro Gyra.  Here to discuss his musical journey in more depth is none other than Lionel Cordew.