Michael Leonhart is a New York-based trumpeter, composer, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter.
In Leonhart’s work, one can hear the fluency in the multiple genres he has deeply immersed himself in over the years. Forbes Magazine writes, “[Leonhart] threads the needle between pop and experimental music seamlessly.” Whether composing for his Orchestra or for film, his sound is unmistakable.
Leonhart has carved a niche for himself, leading his multi-piece Michael Leonhart Orchestra through lyrical and bombastic arrangements, with musical guests such as Nels Cline, Bill Frisell, Donny McCaslin, Keyon Harrold, Anat Cohen, Jeff “Tain” Watts and others. Most recently, Leonhart partnered with Elvis Costello, co-writing and producing three songs that will appear on the upcoming MLO album, “the Normyn Suites”..
Leonhart’s original compositions are also featured in Emmy-nominated documentaries such as “Unhittable: Sidd Finch and the Tibetan Fastball” in collaboration with composer Paul Brill and on the scores to “One: Union of the Senses” by artist Jose Parla and the 2019 crime-comedy “Clover” in collaboration with Leon Michels and El Michels Affair. Leonhart also directed Meryl Streep on an original piece based on the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz for the Decca soundtrack album “Songs of Lahore.” Michael’s composing prowess led to the unlikely yet fruitful pairing with Rockstar Games for the Award-winning score to “Red Dead Redemption 2”.
Michael is adept at many roles in the studio. He served as arranger, featured soloist and conductor for Steely Dan’s Grammy-winning album “Two Against Nature” and arranger and conductor for Nels Cline’s Blue Note Records debut, “Lovers.” Michael wrote arrangements for large brass and woodwinds for David Byrne and St. Vincent’s “Love This Giant” world tour and created a one man brass section on St. Vincent’s 2020 release “Daddy’s Home”, produced by Jack Antonoff. As producer, Michael has worked with Donald Fagen on “Sunken Condos”; Karrin Allyson for her Grammy-nominated Jazz Album, “Many a New Day: Karrin Allyson Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein”, and French sensation Camille Bertault on her debut record on Sony Masterworks, “Pas de Géant,” among others.
As a trumpet player, Michael performed on Mark Ronson’s record-breaking smash hit “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars, which won the 2016 record of the year Grammy and the 2015 Brit award for British single of the year. He has performed with rock legends Steely Dan since 1996, recording two albums with them, including 2000's 4x grammy winning album of the year "Two Against Nature." Michael was a featured soloist on this record, in addition to arranging and conducting. Michael played the featured trumpet solos on Baz Luhrmann’s critically acclaimed Netflix series “The Get Down” and was a regular member of the Antibalas orchestra in Bill T. Jones’ Tony nominated “fela” on Broadway.
Michael has performed and/or recorded with artists: A Tribe Called Quest, Brian Eno, Paul Simon, Yoko Ono, Levon Helm, Q-tip, The Roots with Bilal, Raekwon of Wutang Clan, Henry Mancini, Caetano Veloso, Wynton Marsalis, Alicia Keys, Phil Collins, Steve Winwood, Bill Withers, Bette Midler, Michael McDonald, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Bobby Mcferrin, Todd Rundgren, Bonnie Raitt, Sharon Jones and the Dapkings, Lauryn Hill, Antibalas, Sean Lennon, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band, Joey Bada$$, Blonde Redhead, Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Seu Jorge, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Phish, Cibo Matto, Lenny Kravitz, Scissor Sisters, Dirty Projectors, Aloe Blacc, Natalie Merchant, Phish, and Jens Lekman.
As a solo artist Michael has released seven albums -- "Aardvark Poses" (1995), "Glub Glub vol. 11" (1997), and "Slow" (2002) on the Sunnyside label; "the Suzy Lattimore ep" (2005) & "the Ballad of Minton Quigley "(2006) (self released), 2008's "Hotel Music" (st. ives/secretly canadian) and 2010’s heavy-funk concept album “Seahorse and the Storyteller” (Truth and Soul Records).
Michael’s multi-piece orchestra, the MLO, has released two albums, “the Painted Lady Suite” (2018), touted by the New York Times as “a seductive record that finds a balance between magnificence and melancholy” and “Suite Extracts vol. 1” (2019), which Downbeat magazine called, “bold, energetic music with no fear of pulling from anywhere in the pop world, and...a refreshing assessment of the modern standard”. The MLO’s third album, “the Normyn Suites” will be released on March 25th, 2022 and features soloists Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell, Chris Potter and Larry Goldings. The MLO honed their sound at a monthly residency at New York City’s bastion of jazz, the Jazz Standard, during which time they were featured on NPR/WBGO’s “Toast Of The Nation” hosted by Christian McBride, which aired live New Year’s Eve 2020 on 300+ stations across the United States.
Michael has also been collaborating with the young inventive New York based rapper JSwiss. They released their five-song debut, “The Alchemy EP” in early 2021.
At age 17, Michael was honored as the then youngest Grammy recipient in history, cited as the most outstanding musician in A.U.S. high school. The award was presented to him by legendary film composer Henry Mancini. That same year ABC World News named him "person of the week".
