Ray Gallon Trio feat. Carolyn Leonhart

Personnel:
Ray Gallon - Piano
Carolyn Leonhart - Vocals
Jay Leonhart - Bass
Jimmy Macbride - Drums

A NYC-native, pianist Ray Gallon has been a mainstay on the jazz scene for over thirty years. Rooted in bebop and blues, his expressive, swinging playing melds old and new into a fresh, original style. As a young player, Ray was mentored by jazz piano giants John Lewis, Hank Jones, and ‪Jaki Byard. He has performed at major jazz festivals and venues around the world with such luminaries as Ron Carter, ‪Lionel Hampton, ‪Art Farmer, ‪Benny Golson, George Adams, ‪Les Paul, and ‪Wycliffe Gordon. Ray has appeared at the White House and the Kennedy Center, sharing the stage with jazz legends ‪Dizzy Gillespie, ‪Milt Jackson, Sweets Edison, and Joe Williams. An in-demand accompanist, he has worked with many vocal greats, including Jon Hendricks, ‪Sheila Jordan, ‪Dakota Staton, ‪Gloria Lynne, ‪Jane Monheit and ‪Chaka Khan. Ray's inventive compositions have been recorded by acclaimed artists T.S. Monk and George Adams. His new trio album Make Your Move is available on Cellar Live and features the stellar rhythm section of David Wong and Kenny Washington, with liner notes by Ron Carter. Ray is a faculty member of the jazz programs at The City College of NY in Harlem and the Vermont Jazz Center’s Summer Workshop Series and has taught classes at Juilliard and The New School.
Carolyn Leonhart may be best known as a backup vocalist for Steely Dan; she has toured with the group internationally, and sings backup vocals on two of their albums: Two Against Nature (2001) (which won the Grammy for album of the year) and Everything Must Go (2003). On her own, Leonhart bridges the jazz and pop genres.