Projects

Jazz

Leo’s band, The Contemporary Music Coalition is a cooperative ensemble that has been dubbed “a group with an exciting blend of new sounds” by Jazz Report magazine. Performing their own fresh and original compositions, they have shared stages with such celebrated artists as Betty Carter, Oliver Lake, Henry Threadgill, McCoy Tyner and a host of other contributors of note. Since 1991 they have annually delighted audiences in Europe, where they’ve garnered rave reviews from England to Slovenia to Germany.

What the critics have said:
“CMC’s Unknown Beauty is a worthy album, with the promise of even better things ahead.”
Kevin Whitehead – Cadence Magazine

“Leo’s compositions can range from the hard bop sounds to the threshold of free jazz. Leo’s musical conception is closely aligned with some of the traditions espoused by Chicago’s AACM in that his music is liable to cover anyone of the facets of the entire jazz spectrum.”
Jazz Report – Cleveland, Ohio

Latin Music

He is working with the Rey Cintron Latin Jazz Group which has performed at The College of Wooster, The Ingenuity Festival, Dia De Los Muertos Festival and other venues in and around the Cleveland area. In 2019 Leo traveled to Cuba and played with different Cuban musicians in informal club settings.

South Indian Music

He has performed with the Carnatica Brothers, V.V. Murari and Dr. Padma Sugavanum in concerts at East Tennessee State University, The Thyagaraja Festival and the Cleveland Bop Stop. Leo has also worked with Carnatic vocalist K.N. Shashikirian arranging and conducting music for the 100 voice children’s choir for the Thyagaraja festival which is simulcasted to Chennai, India

Slovenian Music & Poetry

The first took place in Slovenia in November of 2000 and repeated in July of 2001. This project was a collaboration between Slovene bassist, Manc Kovacic and members of my ensemble.
We constructed a musical production that wove together the classic “Wreath of Sonnets” poem by the poet laureate of Slovenia, France Preseren, with the work of modern poets like Tomaz Salamund.
It was performed in three different cities in Slovenia and was simulcast on RTV the main broadcast network in Slovenia, during a performance at the Club Gajo in Ljubljana.
Partial funding for this project was from ArtsLink/Soros Foundation and the Slovenian government

Lament for Raymond Carver

The second project featured poetry by Raymond Carver. The germination of the idea occurred during a European tour by my ensemble and some members of the Blues/Funk band “Moko Bovo” who were sitting in with us. We decided to explore new compositions unrestrained by genre. The results range from Javanese Gamelan-like percussion, industrial rock, tango, string quartet to funk.
This was performed live at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio as well as on the CD “Lament for Raymond Carver”