Leo Blanco is a Venezuelan pianist, arranger and composer. Leo grew up in Mérida, where from early age he was surrounded by Venezuelan folklore – a blend of African and Spanish musical traditions– as well as jazz, classical music and pop. At the age of ten, he began his studies of classical piano and violin at the Conservatorio de Musica de la Universidad de Los Andes, and a year later was a member of the Mérida Youth Orchestra. In 1988, Leo moved to Caracas where he performed and recorded with his own Jazz trio, while studying Improvisation, jazz harmony and piano at the musical Institute “Ars Nova” and University of Musical Studies. Soon he started working with very well known national artists both in Jazz, Latin Pop. During his 8 years in Caracas, Leo obtained vast experience as a composer, arranger, and musical producer while working as musical director at the oldest and most important Jazz Club “Juan Sebastian Bar”. There, with the Leo Blanco Trio, he shared the stage with major international jazz artist such a: Terence Blanchard, Danilo Perez, Pat Metheny, Chucho Valdez and Irakere, Joao Bosco, Gonzalo Rubalcaba. His interest in world music and jazz brought him to Berklee College of Music in 1996, where he immediately obtained a full scholarship, there he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in composition and improvisation. His talent and dedication to music was very quickly recognized in the US even while he was still in school. In March 1996, Leo won the Boston Jazz Society Award, and in May of the same year, was presented with the Billboard Grant Award for his “talent, commitment, achievement and other attributes indicating that he is likely to make a significant contribution to society through music.” Leo also holds a Master’s degree in composition at the New England Conservatory. During his residency in Boston, Leo continued to be very active in both local and international music scene. He participated in many other musical projects, adding his creativity and talents to other genres such as North American folk, salsa, classical, Brazilian and others. He has played with highly acclaimed artists such as Dave Liebman, George Garzone, Luciana Souza, Bob Moses, Dave Samuels, Jamey Haddad, Giovanni Hidalgo, Jane Bunnett among others. In the international arena Blanco has made his presence known in a series of World Music and Jazz Festivals, such as Newport Jazz Festival (USA), Monterey Jazz Festival (USA), North Sea Jazz Festival (Holland), Edinburgh’s International Festival (Scotland), Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Kobe Jazz Festival (Japan), Festival de Musica (Brazil), Festival Latino Americano (Italy), Festival Latino (Italy), Festival Tentarera (Germany), Music Festival de Paleo (Switzerland). He was invited to perform and record a T.V Broadcast by the Cultural Ministry of Yugoslavia. He has played as guest soloist with several Venezuelan orchestras, including Symphonic Orchestra of Funda Ayacucho, Symphonic Orchestra of Mérida and the Symphonic Orchestra of Lara. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.