Jan Leder, Born-and-raised in New York....

Born-and-raised in New York, I decided to pursue my love for improvisation after twelve years of studying classical music. I studied for three years with the late pianist Lennie Tristano and then continued studying Jazz with Connie Crothers for over ten years. My studies in jazz history at SUNY Purchase led to my compilation of the first comprehensive history of women in jazz entitled Women in Jazz: A Discography of Instrumentalists 1913-1968 (Greenwood Press 1985). I have done some teaching of jazz improvisation, although teaching has not figured prominently in my career.

In February 1997, Monad Records released my first CD, Passage To Freedom , which was recorded live at the Five Spot in New York City in the early 1990s. In 1999 I recorded Nonchalant (A-Records 2000), a collection of mostly original melodies. The title tune was aired on CBS' Guiding Light in December 1999.

I currently lead my own jazz ensembles in the New York City area, appearing at nightclubs, festivals, cultural functions and other public and private engagements. My repertoire includes standard bebop, swing, blues and bossa novas as well as some of my own unique jazz compositions and those of my musical colleagues, including drummer/big band leader Art Lillard, with whom I have collaborated on numerous compositions, mostly writing lyrics to his catchy songs. Since 1987, I have been a member of Mr. Lillard's 15-piece jazz band, Art Lillard's Heavenly Band, which includes a flute section. Two of our songs, Incognito and Conclusion Jump, appear on Art's CD Reasons to Be Thankful (Summit Records 2006), which was also met with excellent reviews.

Also, I'm a member of an exciting group of jazz flutists called the NY Jazz Flutet. Fellow flutists Dotti Anita Taylor, Elise Wood, Michele Smith and Chip Shelton are joined by drummer Art Lillard in this unique ensemble featuring a wide array of standards as well as original songs and arrangements by all the members, played on a variety of flutes. Our group was featured at the 2006 National Flute Association's annual conference in Pittsburgh.

In May 2002 the Int'l Association for Jazz Education published my article I Can't Give You Anything But Love, an account of my discovery of employment as an entertainer in healthcare facilities, in their Jazz Education Journal. In July 2003 WBGO-FM Newark aired a 6-minute documentary about my work with seniors and the infirm, produced by jazz programmer/journalist John J. Cooper, in their award-winning WBGO Journal. In February 2006 I was happy to give my first seminar, Making a Living in Music Wellness: a Workshop for Professional Performers at St. Peter's Church, under the auspices of the International Women in Jazz, of which I've been a long-standing member. I'm looking forward to doing more workshops about the same topic, and currently offer private consultations to musicians wanting to enhance their performance schedules.

Influences:
Lennie Tristano, Connie Crothers, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz, Bud Powell, Warne Marsh, Roy Eldridge, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, Jon Hendricks, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, Diana Ross, Chicago, The Beatles, and Charles Ives.