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Bob Leto

"Bob Leto, heard for the first time on record in Burn'in the Blues (CAP 2000), is a jazz drummer's drummer"

About Me

”Bob's fastidious, provocative drumming is a cornucopia of jazz styles,” says Proctor Lippincott of the New York Times. “Mixing the old and the new is the direction he paves on his debut record, Burn'in The Blues.”

Burn'in the Blues, Leto's last recording, is the result of a collaboration with guitarist John Abercrombie, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring and Hammond B-3 player Jeff Palmer.

Bob's latest recording is “Cheesecake” (CAP 2007), a trio with world-famous bassist Dominic Duval and guitarist Tim Siciliano.

“Throughout Cheesecake, Leto teams up with Duval and Siciliano to create fresh renditions of jazz classics. Cheesecake features Leto, Duval and Siciliano reviving, uplifting and exploring eight songs by famous jazz musicians, plus an original by Tim Siciliano,” writes Scott Yanow, jazz critic and author.

Leto began his career when he was fourteen by drumming on telephone books with parade sticks his father bought for him. However, by 18, he had become so accomplished that he won a National Endowment for the Arts award to study with percussion masters Joe Morello and Tony Williams:

“Tony Williams taught me musical concepts, inspiring me to play in more experimental environments, while Joe Morello focused specifically on classical technique.” Buddy Rich was also a beginning influence, along with Max Roach.

He backed rock singer Pat Benatar, a former neighbor and classmate in Lindenhurst, New York, during the 1970s, before heading off to Boston to study jazz at the Berklee College of Music.

While at Berklee, Leto had the opportunity to study and perform with Boston jazz great Allan Dawson, as well as work with world-renowned drummers such as Vinny Colaiuta, Kenwood Dennard and Steve Smith. Leto was a regular performer at Sonny's Place in New York in the mid-1980s, where he performed with Billy Mitchell of the Count Basie Band, in addition to other jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Wess, Don Friedman, Sara Vaughn and Clark Terry.

Bob currently performs with The Bob Leto Trio at various venues, and on Thursday nights he plays at Grasso's in Cold Spring Harbor with pianist Frank O'Brien and bassist Tim Givens.

He also teaches and is available for private lessons.