Jazz Vespers: Jim Ridl and Carolyn Leonhart

NYC's unique jazz prayer service, Sundays at 5 since 1965. All are welcome. Free to attend!

This week, we welcome Jim Ridle and Carolyn Leonhart.

About Jim Ridl

Jim Ridl, a New York City-based jazz pianist, composer and teacher, performs and
records worldwide with a variety of jazz artists, including The Joe Locke Quartet, The
Paul Jost Quartet, and The Dave Liebman Big Band. His own groups perform regularly
at the renowned 55 Bar in NYC, and at Brooklyn’s Soapbox Gallery, both venues for
creative and original jazz. Jim has 9 recordings of his own, including Ask for the Ancient
Path (May 2022), and Standards Live (August 2022), and he has been featured on
hundreds of recordings of other artists. Jim is on the faculty at New York Jazz
Workshop and The City College of New York, and maintains an active private studio.
Jim was raised on a farm and ranch in North Dakota, and discovered his love for piano
and jazz at an early age. He attended the University of Colorado at Denver, where he
earned his Bachelor’s degree in Scoring and Arranging, and was awarded its Student
Achievement Award for composing “Ocean Sojourn,” an orchestral tone poem which he
performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra. In Denver, Jim began his professional
career performing and touring with local and nationally-recognized musicians, including
the Grammy-nominated vocal jazz group, Rare Silk.

About Carolyn Leonhart

A soulful singer of “stunning intelligence” with a voice that is “absolute magic” (Jazz
Times), award winning vocalist Carolyn Leonhart has released four critically acclaimed
solo albums which have been on Jazz Radio charts worldwide. Winner of Downbeat’s
“Best College jazz Vocalist” as well as third place winner in the Thelonius Monk
International Jazz Competition, Carolyn beautifully weaves the worlds of jazz and pop
into every project she is a part of. In addition to headlining at jazz clubs, concert halls
and festivals with her solo band, Carolyn has been a member of the iconic jazz/rock
group Steely Dan for over a decade, appearing as a featured back-up vocalist on every
album and every tour, including the multi Grammy Award winning “Two Against Nature”.

Carolyn has toured and performed with Al Jarreau, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs,
Enya, and The Charles Mingus Big Band, Hank Jones, Catherine Russell, and was
recently featured at Jazz At Lincoln Center. In late 2017, Carolyn made her acting debut
and received critical acclaim for her performance in the Off-Broadway musical, “Cross
That River”.
Carolyn has recently recorded with Mike LeDonne, Helen Sung and Scott Reeves. She
is currently recording two solo albums: a trio project featuring pianist Jim Ridl and her
father, bassist/composer Jay Leonhart, as well as a quintet project including Christian
Sands on piano, Myron Walden on tenor saxophone, Richie Goods on bass, and
Rodney Green on drums. “That Carolyn Leonhart can hold her own as a superlative
vocalist is undeniable,” reports JazzTimes. All About Jazz adds, “It’s rare to hear a
singer who has both chops and discernible style. Carolyn Leonhart is one of the few: it’s
a pleasure to hear the intelligence and nuance in her delivery.”

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