Michael Leonhart (born April 21, 1974) is an American jazz trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist.

Solo career

In 1992 Leonhart was honored with the first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for outstanding high school musician in the US (he attended

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square n ...

). He was the youngest Grammy recipient to date. He was 17 years old. In February of the same year ''

ABC World News ''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening television news program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting ...

'' named him Person of the Week. Leonhart has performed with Steely Dan since 1996, recording two albums with them, including 2000's Grammy winning Album of the Year '' Two Against Nature'' on which he was a featured soloist, arranger, and conductor. He co-produced

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his ...

's fourth solo album, ''

Sunken Condos ''Sunken Condos'' is the fourth and most recent solo album from Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen, released in October 2012 through Reprise Records. It contains eight new songs and a cover of Isaac Hayes' "Out of the Ghetto". Fagen began record ...

'' (2012). He recorded with Yoko Ono as a featured member of

The Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name. Lennon and Ono began a personal and artistic relati ...

in 2009 for her album, ''

Between My Head and the Sky Between is a preposition. It may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Between'' (Frankmusik album), a 2013 album by Frankmusik * "Between", a song by Jerry Cantrell from ''Boggy Depot'' * ''Between'' (TV series), a Canadian science fiction- ...

'' and again in 2013 on her album '' Take Me to the Land of Hell''. He played with Monkey House on two albums: ''Headquarters'' (2012) and ''

Left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album '' Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * ...

'' (2016). In 2015, he collaborated with the Antibalas and

The Dap-Kings Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They were part of a revival movement of mid-1960s to mid-1970s style funk and soul music. They released their debut album ''Dap Dippin in 2002, the firs ...

horn sections,

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, R ...

, and

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

to record "

Uptown Funk "Uptown Funk" is a song by British record producer Mark Ronson from his fourth studio album, ''Uptown Special'' (2015), featuring American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released as the album's lead single on 10 November 2014 via dow ...

" and other tracks on the album ''

Uptown Special ''Uptown Special'' is the fourth studio album by English record producer Mark Ronson. The album was released on 13 January 2015 in the US and 19 January 2015 in the UK. It is his first album in nearly five years, following '' Record Collection'' ...

'' (2015). He has also worked with

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

, John Barry,

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

, DJ Spooky,

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male R ...

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation '' No New York''. I ...

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for o ...

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

, Michael McDonald,

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...

, Q-Tip,

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream succes ...

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

, Joshua Redman,

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

, Skizm,

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

, and

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...

Michael Leonhart & the Avramina 7

After 40 plus recordings as the house trumpet player for Truth and Soul Records, the Brooklyn-based funk and soul label released Leonhart's heavy-funk concept album ''Seahorse and the Storyteller'' in 2009.

Personal life

Michael Leonhart is the son of

Jay Leonhart Jay Leonhart (born December 6, 1940) is a double bassist, singer, and songwriter who has worked in jazz and popular music. He has performed with Judy Garland, Bucky Pizzarelli, Carly Simon, Frank Sinatra, and Sting. Leonhart is noted for his cle ...

, noted jazz bassist, and the brother of Carolyn Leonhart, vocalist.

Discography

As leader

* ''Aardvark Poses'' ( Sunnyside, 1995) * ''Glub Glub Vol. 11'' (Sunnyside, 1997) * ''Slow'' (Sunnyside, 2002) * ''The Suzy Lattimore EP'' (self-released, 2005) * ''The Ballad of Minton Quigley'' (self-released, 2006) * ''Hotel Music'' (St. Ives, 2008) * ''Seahorse & the Storyteller'' (

Truth and Soul ''Truth and Soul'' is the second studio album by American rock band Fishbone. It was released on September 13, 1988. As is typical of the band's history of music the album features a wide array of genres including punk, ska, reggae, soul, funk, ...

, 2010) * ''The Painted Lady Suite'' (Sunnyside, 2018) * ''Suite Extracts Vol. 1'' (Sunnyside, 2019) With JSWISS * ''The Alchemy EP'' (self-released, 2021) * ''Bona Fide'' (self-released, 2022)

As sideman or guest

With Vinicius Cantuaria * ''Sol Na Cara'' (Gramavision, 1996) * ''Tucuma'' (Verve, 1998) * ''Vinicius'' (Transparent, 2001) * ''Horse and Fish'' (Rykodisc, 2004) * ''Cymbals'' (Naive, 2007) With

* ''The Double Cross'' (Sunnyside, 1988) * ''Galaxies and Planets'' (Sons of Sound, 2001) * ''Rodgers & Leonhart'' (Sons of Sound, 2002) With others *

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...

, ''Good Things'' (Stones Throw 2010) * Blonde Redhead, ''3 O'Clock'' (Ponderosa, 2017) * Paul Brill, ''Breezy'' (Scarlet Shame, 2011) *

Cibo Matto Cibo Matto (, Italian for "crazy food") was an American alternative rock band formed by Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in New York City in 1994. Initially, the band's lyrics were primarily concerned with food, before expanding into broader subject ...

, ''Hotel Valentine'' (Chimera, 2014) * Peter Cincotti, ''Long Way from Home'' (2017) *

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

, ''Lovers'' (2016) *

El Michels Affair El Michels Affair is an American "cinematic soul" group led by New York-based musician Leon Michels. The group released its debut album ''Sounding Out The City'' in 2005. After touring behind Raekwon and other Wu-Tang Clan members, the group recor ...

, ''Sounding Out the City'' (Fastlife, 2005) *

, ''Enter the 37th Chamber'' (Fat Beats, 2009) *

, ''Sunken Condos'' (Reprise, 2012) * Lee Fields, ''My World'' (Truth & Soul, 2009) * Lee Fields, ''Faithful Man'' (Truth & Soul, 2012) *

The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger is an American band formed in 2008 by Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl. The couple have stated that they started the band as a way to spend more time together, and while they released a number of recordings an ...

, ''La Carotte Bleue'' (Chimera, 2011) * The Hold Steady, ''Thrashing Thru the Passion'' (Frenchkiss, 2019) *

Yuka Honda Yuka Honda is a Japanese-American musician who resides in New York City. She is a multi-instrumentalist (mainly piano, synthesizer, sampler and other keyboards), composer, record producer, and co-founder of the band Cibo Matto. Throughout her ...

, ''Heart Chamber Phantoms'' (Tzadik, 2010) * Per Husby, ''If You Could See Me Now'' (Gemini, 1996) * Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, ''I Learned the Hard Way'' (Daptone, 2010) * Shawn Lee, ''World of Funk'' (Ubiquity, 2011) *

Jens Lekman Jens Martin Lekman (; born 6 February 1981) is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. His work is heavily influenced by Jonathan Ri ...

, ''An Argument with Myself'' (Secretly Canadian, 2011) *

, ''Prize'' (Righteous Babe, 1999) * Michael McDonald, ''Wide Open'' (BMG, 2017) *

, ''Leave Your Sleep'' (Nonesuch, 2010) * Tom Odell, ''Jubilee Road'' (Columbia, 2018) *

Mauro Refosco Mauro Refosco is a Brazilian percussionist. He is best known for working with singer David Byrne and as the former touring and session percussionist for the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He is a member of the experimental supergroup ...

, ''Seven Waves'' (MA, 1999) *

, ''Uptown Special'' (Columbia, 2015) *

Ben Sidran Ben Hirsh Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer. Early in his career he was a member of the Steve Miller Band and is the father of Grammy-nominated musician, composer an ...

, '' Dylan Different'' (Microcoscmo Dischi, 2009) *

Leo Sidran Leo Sidran is an American Grammy-nominated musician, composer, performer, and producer whose credits include co-producing the Oscar-winning song "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" for the soundtrack to the movie '' The Motorcycle Diaries''. Sidran began ...

, ''Cool School'' (Bonsai Music, 2018) * Alice Smith, ''For Lovers, Dreamers & Me'' (BBE 2006) * Sharleen Spiteri, ''Melody'' (Mercury, 2008) *

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from liv ...

, ''Two Against Nature'' (Reprise, 2000) *

, ''Everything Must Go'' (Reprise, 2003) *

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a dr ...

, ''Here Comes Science'' (Disney Sound/Idlewild, 2009) * Steve Tyrell, ''This Guy's in Love'' (Columbia, 2003) * Sachal Vasandani, ''Slow Motion Miracles'' (Okeh, 2015) *

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III ...

, ''Come Home to Mama'' (Cooperative, 2012) *

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

, ''Out of the Game'' (Decca, 2012) *

Walt Weiskopf Walt Weiskopf (born July 30, 1959 in Augusta, Georgia) is an American jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, author and educator. He has released sixteen albums as a leader, and performed on countless other albums as a sideman. He has ...

, ''Day in Night Out'' (Criss Cross, 2008) *

The Whitefield Brothers The Whitefield Brothers are a German funk band. The band, which consists of brothers Jan and Max Weissenfeldt, was previously known as the "'Poets of Rhythm"' beginning in 1991. Under this name, they were signed to the Quannum Projects Quannum P ...

, ''In the Raw'' (Now-Again, 2009) * Nikki Yanofsky, ''Nikki'' (Decca, 2010) *

Geoff Zanelli Geoffrey Zanelli is an American composer working primarily in the medium of film, television, and video game scores. His early career was notable for scoring additional music on roughly 30 film scores written by Hans Zimmer, John Powell, Harry ...

and

, ''Mortdecai'' (La-La Land, 2015) *

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

, ''…At The Holiday Party'' (Daddy's Home, 2020)

References

External links

Official SiteAt Discogs
* At AllMusicbr>At Sunnyside
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonhart, Michael American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters American soul musicians American funk musicians Musicians from New York City 1974 births Living people Plastic Ono Band members Jazz musicians from New York (state) American male jazz musicians Sunnyside Records artists The Dukes of September members