Biography

Jay Leonhart has been recognized as a very accomplished bass player for a long time now. He has been named the Outstanding Bassist In the Recording Industry three times and is always mentioned when the discussion turns to the outstanding . At age thirteen, while playing banjo with his brother in a dixieland band in Baltimore, Jay watched and listened to the bass player and knew that the bass was the instrument he would play forever.

Since that time Jay has been privileged to play with the likes of Judy Garland, Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Buddy Rich, Jim Hall, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Marian McPartland, Kenny Barron, Sting,m James Taylor, Papa Joe Jones, Roy Eldridge, Jim Hall, Louie Bellson, Dick Hyman, Luciano Pavoratti, and many more.

Over the years, Jay Leonhart has been writing and singing his own very individualistic songs about his life as a bass player. He now performs his music worldwide to very receptive audiences.

Jay now appears primarily with his trio, which plays regularly at Birdland in New York, when not gainfully employed elsewhere.

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