Leonard Patton & Peter Sprague
Award-winning jazz guitarist and composer Peter Sprague teams up with vocalist Leonard Patton to play music that jumps around jazz, samba, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Americana, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley.
They frequently start one song, make up some new sonic material, create some loops and then attempt a safe landing in another aural vista. Freedom is one of the perks of being just a duo.
Some people are born to sing. Leonard Patton was just born singing. From his elementary school days when he requested hall passes in order to test the acoustics of the school’s hallways, to his college days of choir and ensembles, Patton has yet to stop singing. While attending Mesa Community College, Patton discovered his musical niche for jazz. He also studied at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he further developed his musical abilities and fed his passion for jazz. His rich, smoky voice, unique style, and sensational scatting soon gained him entrance into San Diego’s jazz scene. He’s been performing and recording with notable artists such as Bill Cunliffe, Derek Nievergelt, Duncan Moore, Mitch Manker, Mike Bedard, Ken Dow, Jetro Da Silva, and countless others. His full-length Expressions, recorded at local guitar hero Peter Sprague’s Spragueland Studio in July 2011, was released the following September. The album is a freewheeling duet featuring the soulful, burnished tenor of Patton and the internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso Geoffrey Keezer.
Peter Sprague tells the Reader “Leonard Patton is one of my all time favorite musicians…he has this incredible voice, and he’s also a great trumpet player and saxophonist.” Sprague is referring to Patton’s very Bobby McFerrin-esque ability to imitate the sound of various horn and string instruments with his voice. In summer 2017, the Leonard Patton Group set a new Guinness Record for most performances (70) in 24 hours.
Peter Sprague was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1955 into a musical family. They moved to Del Mar in 1963. He started playing guitar when he was 12 and attended a year of study at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. In 1976 he moved to Boston, where he studied with Pat Metheny and classical guitarist Albin Zak. Returning to California in 1978, he formed a group called The Dance of the Universe Orchestra, featuring vocalist Kevyn Lettau.
Peter has recorded over 30 of his own albums and has been part of over 300 others. In addition to performing and recording, he recorded 4 albums with Charles McPherson and later established a long-standing performing and recording relationship with Chick Corea. He organized Corea’s music in book form for publishing and published a book of his own transcriptions of Corea’s piano solos.
In 1985 he accepted teaching positions at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood and at CalArts in Los Angeles and has published several books of his pedagogy and compositions. Peter has a recording studio where he records, produces, and composes.
LEONARD PATTON & PETER SPRAGUE
