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Leo Pellegrino

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Leonardo Pellegrino
Pellegrino on the baritone saxophone in 2020
Pellegrino on the baritone saxophone in 2020
Background information
Born (1991-06-03) June 3, 1991 (age 33)
OriginPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresJazz, Brass house
Years active2014–present
Member of
Formerly ofLucky Chops

Leonardo Antonio Pellegrino, also known as Leo P, is a baritone saxophonist from Pittsburgh who is based in New York City. He is a member of the "brass house" band Too Many Zooz and former member of the Lucky Chops brass band. He is known for his energetic dancing that he performs while playing, often in public areas.

Early life and education

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He was born June 3, 1991, in the city of Pittsburgh. He is the youngest son of accordionist and composer Stephen Pellegrino.

Pellegrino graduated from city schools — Pittsburgh Liberty Elementary School (K-5) and Rogers Middle School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). He got his degree at the Manhattan School of Music in 2013.[1][2] While at the Manhattan School of Music, Pellegrino recorded with its Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra.[3] Scott Yanow's review of the album noted "Pellegrino's use of extreme high notes as punctuation during his passionate solo on 'Let There Be Swing'."[3]

Career

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He is a member of the "brass house" band Too Many Zooz[4] and former member of the Lucky Chops brass band. On November 30, 2019, Pellegrino and alto saxophonist Grace Kelly announced a long-term collaboration project known as 2SAXY. In the same year he began a similar collaboration named Thundersmack with Michael Wilbur of Moon Hooch.

Pellegrino is "perhaps best known for his impressive dance moves while performing on the baritone saxophone. A number of videos with Pellegrino have gained wide popularity on YouTube, due in equal parts to his playing, dancing, and vibrant hair and dress styles."[5]

Many videos of Too Many Zooz have gone 'viral' showing the band busking in New York City Subway stations, particularly the always busy Union Square station."[6] Too Many Zooz featured on Beyoncé Knowles's 2016 album Lemonade[7] and joined her for a performance of "Daddy Lessons" at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards.[8][9]

Pellegrino was a guest player with the Metropole Orkest in a 2017 BBC Proms concert on the works of Charles Mingus.[10][11] John Fordham of The Guardian commented on "Pellegrino's hook-punctuated sax playing and busker's line in simultaneous pirouettes, knee-trembles and high kicks [...] by accident or design, the newcomer did emphasise the joyous impulsiveness of an American musical giant often characterised as only a tortured genius."[11] Pellegrino performed with Too Many Zooz at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London in November 2017.[12]

In 2022, Pellegrino contributed to the soundtrack for the film Babylon.[13]

Equipment

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In March 2019, Pellegrino was announced as a Yamaha artist; he plays a Yamaha YBS-52 baritone saxophone.[14] He endorses the Theo Wanne Durga 5 mouthpiece with an 8* tip opening.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Alumni News". Manhattan School of Music. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  2. ^ Bellamy, Cliff (June 21, 2017). "Trio Too Many Zooz traces origins to busking in the NYC subway". The Herald Sun. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Yanow, Scott (July 2014) "Manhattan School Of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra with Bobby Sanabria – Qué Viva Harlem!". Down Beat. p. 69.
  4. ^ "Too Many Zooz". Too Many Zooz. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  5. ^ Mruk, Frank (November 11, 2014). "Leo Pellegrino Rocks it at TEDxNYIT". YouTube. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Leo P". JazzBariSax.com Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  7. ^ Murphy, Tom (March 24, 2017). "Beyoncé Collaborators in Too Many Zooz Owe Their Success to "Subway Gods"". Denver Westword. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  8. ^ Havens, Lyndsey (November 3, 2016). "Brass House Trio Too Many Zooz on Backing Up Beyonce & Dixie Chicks for CMA Awards Showstopper". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Britt, Grant (June 28, 2017). "Wild Animals: Too Many Zooz Wrestles With a Quickly Growing Career Far Beyond Its Busking Beginnings". Indy Week. pp. 19–20 – via Issuu.
  10. ^ "Charles Mingus Revisited". BBC Proms. Season 123. Episode 53. August 25, 2017. BBC. BBC Four. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Fordham, John (August 25, 2017). "Prom 53: Charles Mingus Revisited review – starry tribute to jazz revolutionary". The Guardian. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  12. ^ "Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, Soho, London – listings and news for November 2017". Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. September 27, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  13. ^ Solzman, Danielle (December 13, 2022). "Babylon Composer Justin Hurwitz on Creating a Unique Jazz Sound for His Reunion With Damien Chazelle". Below the Line. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "Leo P | Yamaha Artists". www.yamaha.com. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  15. ^ "Leo P – Theo Wanne". theowanne.com. February 21, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
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