Leon Lee Dorsey (born March 12, 1958) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, producer, and educator known for his well-received debut for

Landmark Records Landmark Records was an American jazz record company and label founded in 1985 by Orrin Keepnews. Landmark's releases included music by Donald Byrd, Jack DeJohnette, Jimmy Heath, Vincent Herring, Bobby Hutcherson, Mulgrew Miller, Buddy Montgome ...

. He teaches at the

Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music () is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Raised by a family plugged into Pittsburgh’s jazz lineage, Dorsey began playing instruments at an early age. He picked up the piano and cello first, soon after joining the Pittsburgh Symphony at the famed Center for the Musically Talented. He began his undergraduate studies at Oberlin College, where he was the first to receive a B.M in classical Double Bass and Jazz Performance. Dorsey also graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory and was one of several jazz luminaries at the opening of their new jazz facility, the Bertram and Judith Kohl building. He released his debut album ''The Watcher'' in 1995 and followed it up with 1999’s ''Song of Songs''. In 2003, he founded Leon Lee Dorsey Studios in New York City. Dorsey has performed alongside many jazz icons, from Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, John Lewis, Kenny Clarke, Jon Hendricks, Gloria Lynn, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Dorothy Donegan, Stanley Turrentine, George Benson, Ellis Marsalis, Nnenna Freelon, Terumasa Hino to GRAMMY-winning vocalist Cassandra Wilson, performing with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall, and with conducting legends Lukas Foss and Robert Fountain.

Education

* Classical Double Bass / Jazz Performance - Double Degree in Music (

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

) - 1981 * Classical Double Bass - Master's Degree (

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

) - 1983 * Artist Diploma Program (

Hartt School of Music The Hartt School is the performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford, a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov, Hartt has been part of the University of Hartford since it ...

) - 1984 * Music Performance (Double Bass) - Master's Degree (

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

) - 1986 * Double Bass Performance - Doctor of Music (DMA) (Stony Brook University Graduate School) - 2016

Discography

As leader

As sideman

* '' I Get a Kick Out of Bu'' -

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

& the

Jazz Messengers The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the o ...

* '' Feel the Wind'' - Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers w/

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

* ''Cookin' in the Kitchen'' -

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

Orchestra * ''Today's Love Songs Tomorrow's Blues'' -

Arthur Prysock Arthur Prysock Jr. (January 1, 1924 According to his obituary in ''The New York Times'', "his heavy, deep voice projected a calm, reassuring virility." Life and career Prysock was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Many sources give his birt ...

* ''(Classical Chamber Music)'' - Manchester Festival Orchestra * ''From My Heart to Your Heart'' -

Gloria Lynne Gloria Lynne (born Gloria Wilson; November 23, 1929 – October 15, 2013), also known as Gloria Alleyne, was an American jazz vocalist with a recording career spanning from 1958 to 2007. Early life Lynne was born in Harlem in 1929 to John and Ma ...

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...

* ''Darling Please Save Your Love for Me'' - Dakota Stanton * ''Gemini'' -

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

Quartet w/

John Hicks Sir John Richard Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economics ...

Charlie Persip Charles Lawrence Persip (July 26, 1929 – August 23, 2020), known as Charli Persip and formerly as Charlie Persip (he changed the spelling of his name to Charli in the late 1960s), was an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Morristown, N ...

* ''Otherside'' -

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American List of jazz saxophonists, jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano saxophone, soprano and flute. D ...

Big Band w/

John Stubblefield John Stubblefield (February 4, 1945 – July 4, 2005) was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and oboist. Early life Stubblefield was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied music at the Association for the Advancement of Crea ...

Frank Lacy Frank Lacy (born August 9, 1958, Houston, Texas) is an American jazz trombonist who has spent many years as a member of the Mingus Big Band. Career Lacy's father was a teacher who played guitar with Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, and Eddie Clea ...

* ''New York Story'' -

Hilton Ruiz Hilton Ruiz (May 29, 1952 – June 6, 2006) was an American jazz pianist in the Afro-Cuban jazz mold, but was also a talented bebop player. He was of Puerto Rican descent. Biography Born in New York City, Ruiz began playing piano at the age of f ...

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

Grady Tate Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated ''Schoolhou ...

* ''Steppin’ with T.P.'' - Hilton Ruiz w/

Dave Valentin David Peter Valentin (April 29, 1952 – March 8, 2017) was an American Latin jazz flautist of Puerto Rican descent. Life and career Valentin was born to Puerto Rican parents in The Bronx in New York City. He attended The High School of Mus ...

Antonio Hart Antonio Hart (born September 30, 1968) is an American jazz alto saxophonist. He attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, studied with Andy McGhee at Berklee College of Music, and has a master's degree from Queens College, City University of ...

* ''Swing ‘em Gates'' -

Jay Hoggard Jay Hoggard (born September 24, 1954) is an American jazz vibraphonist. Biography Jay Hoggard was raised in a religious family. He was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother taught him how to play piano at a ...

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

Winard Harper Hiram Winard Harper (born June 4, 1962) is an American jazz drummer. Career Harper played in the 1980s with Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, and with Betty Carter for four years. While working with Carter he met Wycliffe Gordon, with whom Harper w ...

* ''Twilight Blues'' - Roy Meriwether w/

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing music, swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He re ...

* '' Song for My Sister'' -

Roscoe Mitchell Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figure ...

* ''Renewal of the Spirit'' - Vincent Ector w/

Bobby Watson Robert Watson, Bob Watson, or Bobby Watson may refer to: Politics * Robert Spence Watson (1837–1911), English solicitor, reformer, politician and writer * Robert James Watson (1846–1931), Canadian parliamentarian * Robert Watson (Canadian po ...

* ''Lovecentric'' - Gerry Eastman w/ Joe Ford, Newman Baker * ''Vignettes in the Spirit of Ellington'' - James 'Jabbo' Ware * ''Something is Coming'' - James 'Jabbo' Ware * ''Gilly’s Caper'' - Sue Terry w/ Saul Reuben, Vince Ector * ''The Standard Session'' - Stephen Zinnato w/

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band duri ...

, Charlie Persip * ''The 5 A.M. Strut'' - Ezra Weiss w/

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drumming, jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well as with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest (b ...

, Antonio Hart, Mike Mossman * ''Persephone'' - Ezra Weiss w/ Billy Hart, Antonio Hart, Mike Mossman * ''Miles Away...Wayne in Heavy'' - Eric Gould * ''Who Sez'' - Eric Gould * ''Great Spirit'' - Jim Finn * ''Sax and the Single Girl'' - Gail Allen * ''What is This Thing Called Jazz'' - Laura Theodore * '' For Four Orchestras'' -

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

w/ Oberlin Orchestra * ''Head Music'' -

The Daou The Daou were a New York-based dance music quintet composed of Peter Daou (keyboards), Vanessa Daou (vocals), Mike Caro (guitar), Leon Dorsey (bass), and former 24-7 Spyz member Anthony Johnson (drums). Their only album ''Head Music'' was relea ...

(Underground Dance-Rock)

External links

Dorsey's homepage
from University of Pittsburgh
Dorsey's personal website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorsey, Leon Lee Landmark Records artists Living people 1958 births American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Oberlin College alumni University of Pittsburgh faculty 21st-century American double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians