Leo P
Imagine the scene: A full orchestra graces the stage on the elegant set of the prestigious classically-oriented BBC Proms. The orchestra’s drummer hits a dance beat and out strides a pink-haired baritone sax player honking in rhythm, executing James-Brown style wiggles as he plays, dancing, gesturing, mugging. The orchestra conductor and audience are at first startled, then amazed and finally delighted as Leo P tears the house down, interpolating a hot version of the Charles Mingus classic “Moanin’” along the way.
Flash back to the year before. The Dixie Chicks and Beyoncé are backed by the house band performing their version of Beyoncé’s “Daddy Lessons,” when out steps a platinum-blond baritone sax player, wiggling and honking toward Beyoncé who wiggles her hips back in return. Who was that masked man and where did he come from? Only a couple years before you would have found him in the New York City subways backed by a drummer or sometimes a couple horn players, gob-smacking and delighting the most jaded New Yorkers with his manic dancing and playing. YouTube videos of these performances garnered tens of millions of views.
It’s a reminder that quality music can be joyous fun, an unfiltered, unmannered outpouring of human spirit. The magic of Leo P did not go unnoticed by the gaming world either. In fact, Leo successfully sued Epic Games for its unauthorized use of Leo’s likeness and signature dance moves in the Fortnite “Phone It In” emote. Leo P, whose Too Many Zooz band has been touring the world, now steps forward with his debut solo album Comin’ Up Aces, due out November 4, 2022 on Shanachie Entertainment.
Comin’ Up Aces presents Leo P as an artist who takes the baritone saxophone where no baritone sax player has gone before on a set of rich jazz-funk that aims to make jazz danceable again.
