Born in Southampton to a jazz-loving father, Leon studied piano at Leeds College of Music and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. Inspired by the likes of Bud Powell, Wynton Kelly and Bobby Timmons, Leon has been a popular performer at BJazz with his hard swinging style. Tonight his Trio features the brilliant young double bassist Adam King and a familiar face to BJazz, the drummer Matt Skelton.

https://www.mixcloud.com/radiodacorum/irtuoso-jazz-pianist-leon-greening-talks-about-plays-bebop-post-bebop-bossa-blues-17626/

“One of the most swinging bands on the jazz planet” – Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club promotion

“Leon Greening….epitomises the assured confidence of a new generation.’” – Jazz Journal

“Listening to Leon Greening’s playing is like hearing a history of post-Bop piano…authentic and yet personal echoes of (all the greats)…” – Clark Tracey

Leon Greening (p), Mirko Scarcia (b), Matt Skelton (d)

Leon Greening has played and recorded with many leading jazz artists including: Peter King, Jim Mullen, Spike Robinson, Clark Tracey, Steve Brown, Dave Green, Christian Brewer, Damon Brown, Alex Garnett, Matt Wates, Steve Fishwick and Nat Steele.  He has performed regularly at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, 606 Club, Pizza Express Soho, Jamboree Barcelona, as well as many of the UK’s jazz venues and festivals.

His album “Cookin’ in Brooklyn” recorded at Systems Two recording studio in New York features the superb US alto saxophonist Vincent Herring and the UK’s magnificent Alex Garnett on tenor sax, with Michael Janisch on double bass and Steve Brown on drums, and is available on the Leopard Records label.

He also has his own quartet with Alex Garnett on alto saxophone, a two saxophone quintet with Alex Garnett on tenor sax and Sam Mayne on alto sax, a quartet with trumpeter Steve Fishwick playing the music of the legendary pianist Bobby Timmons, and a sextet: “Celebrating Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers”.

Mirko Scarcia

Mirko Scarcia started playing bass guitar back in 1997, with various local bands in small towns near Taranto, Italy. He then moved to Bologna, where he began playing double bass, inspired by the encounter with Ares Tavolazzi (former member of the Area, popular Italian rock-progressive band from the ’70s). Through a recommendation of Tavolazzi , he then went on to study double bass with Maestro Luigi Giannoni at the Modena Conservatoire of Classical Music “O. Vecchi – A. Tonelli”, where he graduated in 2009.

Although always fascinated by multiple genders, his main occupation in Bologna has been jazz music. He attended a number of jazz workshops and private lessons with John Webber, Cecil McBee, Curtis Landy and Ron Carter. During his years in Bologna, he had the chance to play with various national and international artists such as Steve Grossman, Ronnie Cuber, Jesse Davis, Jerry Bergonzi, Rick Margitza, Piero Odorici, Barend Middlehoff, Jimmy Villotti, Carlo Atti, Paolo Fresu, Fabrizio Bosso, Flavio Boltro, Shawn Monteiro, Denise King, Giovanni Amato, Gregory Hutchinson, Gegè Munari, John Webber, Joe Farnsworth, Willy Jones III, Renato Chicco, Steve Gut and many more.

In 2007 he won the first prize at the Moncalieri Jazz Festival, near Turin, Italy.

As well as being a musician, Mirko Scarcia has been working as a composer and producer for years. He studied Classical and Modern Music composition with Maestros Mauro Montalbetti, Giuseppe Calì and Antonio Giacometti. He graduated from National Conservatoire Arrigo Boito of Parma in 2018 with a thesis on Contemporary composition, under the supervision of Maestro Roberto Sansuini.

Again with Maestro D’onghia he has been working as an assistant composer and producer, on projects “Morgan e il Paese dei Balocchi” (2016) and “Arisa Summer Tour” (2018), both with Philharmonic Orchestra “Arturo Toscanini” of Parma, “Eterno Tour” di Giovanni Caccamo e Beppe D’Onghia Ensemble (2018)and “Lucio Dalla – Quarant’anni dopo” (2019) with Philharmonic Orchestra of Bologna, collaborating with some of the most important icons of Italian music, such as Ron, Gaetano Curreri, Luca Carboni and Marco Masini.

Matt Skelton is a familiar face at BJazz, a teacher and band leader in many forms, he has a diverse musical career over the last 3 decades, accompanying many international jazz luminaries, and performing on multi-continent international tours.

Tickets online upto 17:00 on the evening of the concert. They will be available on the door at opening, 18:45