Kevin McLeod

I am a Guitarist and a Singer/Songwriter who plays contemporary music in a variety of settings.

Music has extraordinary transformative power, both for the musician and listener. It's what I'm always trying to tap into, regardless of the musical style or setting.

I have been very busy this past year playing lead guitar in The Kathy Fleischmann Band. This band has been getting raves at all performances and we're excited about our 1st KFB CD. It is entitled, "The Second Took Even Longer", and you can pick up a copy at CDBaby.com.

I continue to play Solo performances and also perform as part of the acoustic duo DeStefano & McLeod. Recently my jazz group, True To Life, reformed - initial rehearsals are sounding very good. From time to time you may also find me playing in various ensembles with Geoffrey Armes. I have appeared on cable TV programs LIMC-TV & LT1, and played at NYC clubs such as The Sidewalk, Googie's Lounge (Upstairs at The Living Room), CBGB's, The Alphabet Lounge and Kavehaz. I have also played for many festivals & folk music societies in addition to many cafes, clubs, & restaurants in the NY area and along the east coast. My music has been played on NY radio stations such as WBAB, WFUV, and WUSB, as well as other stations across the USA, in Europe and Australia. All of my songs are available for download from iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster and most other digital download services.

I have plans for another solo CD in 2010 - the songs have been selected, I'm working on arrangements, almost ready to book some studio time. In addition to my own CDs, "Greed and Fear", "Liana's Lonely" & "The Road Home", you can hear my guitar playing on releases by The Kathy Fleischmann Band, Kathy Fleischmann , Buddha Box, and Phil DeStefano .

From 1996 thru 2000 - I was writing songs and instrumental pieces, recording, and performing as part of Acoustic Folk/Jazz Duo DeStefano & McLeod. Our "Coloring the Sky" CD was well-received by acoustic-format radio programs across the country.

DeStefano & McLeod were twice featured on the Cable TV Program LT1. We performed at Long Island's festivals such as the Huntington Fall Festival, The Northport Historical Society Music Series, and at concerts sponsored by some of Long Island's Folk Music Societies such as The Good Times Coffeehouse, and The Eclectic Café. We also performed regularly at Border's and Barnes & Noble Bookstores, and at other Long Island Coffee Houses. We played some interesting gigs in NYC at CBGB's Gallery and at the Sidewalk in the East Village.

From 1994 to 1996 I played electric guitar in a jazz group with Phil DeStefano called "Straight Ahead". We played jazz standards and a few of my original jazz compositions. We played bars such as Chesterfields in Huntington and were featured at the Huntington Summer Series in Hecksher Park and the Northport Summer concert series as well.

I am also a founding member of NYC Jazz/R&B/Funk group True To Life. True To Life self-produced 2 recordings of original music. 'Dirty Fingers' was released in 1989, and 'Easy Street' was released 1992. True To Life were selected as one of the 12 Best Unsigned Bands by Musician Magazine in 1990, a year when more than 3,000 bands submitted recordings.

True to Life played quite a bit in NYC and NJ and opened for smooth-jazz favorites such as Onaje Allen Gumbs & Marion Meadows. TTL are shown here performing at Downtime, a great place for music in NYC in the early 1990's.

The band featured myself on guitar, Michael Porter on bass, Frazer Adams on drums, and Guenther Reider on alto, tenor, & soprano sax and keyboards.

I was accepted into the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in 1992 and spent 3 years in the workshop broadening my composition and arranging skills in a big-band jazz context. I learned much from composers Manny Albam & Jim McNeely, who led the workshop, as well as the other musicians/composers in the workshop.

In 1990 I was selected for an ASCAP Jazz Workshop. It was quite an experience listening to jazz great Gerry Mulligan discussing my music with Larry Rosen from GRP Records and Steve Backer who was at RCA Records at the time. It was an honor to have Gerry defend my music when a singer who was present objected to it being called jazz. Gerry responded, "This piece of music has angular melodies in the head section which have a long history in jazz , some free blowing in another section, and lots of group improvisation - this is the jazziest music I've heard here today!"

In 1985 & 1986 I was studying guitar and music theory in NYC with virtuoso guitarist George Bien. The instrumental technique and musical understanding I acquired studying with George enabled me to progress as a writer as well as a player. Following this period of study I wrote the music that would become True To Life's initial repertoire.

Gear

My primary electric guitar is a 1980 Gibson ES-Artist My primary acoustic guitar is a Lowden