Biography
One of the most exciting up and coming jazz bass players of his generation, Patrick Leavy blends traditional and innovative bass playing seamlessly in his fresh approach.
Patrick was born in New York City on July 4th 2000 and moved to Westchester NY shortly after. In his early years Patrick’s parents always encouraged him to find an instrument to learn, and pushed him towards the bass. At age 9 he started taking classical lessons on the upright bass, and electric bass lessons at age 10. During his time at Sleepy Hollow Middle School and High School, Patrick participated in various groups including the pit orchestra chamber orchestra, jazz band, jazz combo, and string orchestra. During middle school he was playing bass guitar in a four-piece rock band, as well as being principal bassist in the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, located in Ridgefield CT. During his time in high school Patrick participated in many music programs including Manhattan School of Music Precollege, New York Youth Symphony Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony Big Band, New York All-State Orchestra, and as Principal Bass in the Westchester area all-state orchestra. Through his opportunities in New York, Patrick has been able to perform in many well known clubs and halls: Carnegie Hall, Kodak Theater, PepsiCo Theater, Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, The Times Center, The Appel Room, Symphony Space, and the Jazz Forum Tarrytown. During high school Patrick stopped his classical studies to study under the legendary bassist Ben Wolfe, and gained a deep understanding of the bass player tradition in jazz music.
In 2018, Patrick went on to pursue a degree in Jazz performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, which he completed in 2022. Throughout his undergraduate he was mentored by the great bassist and scholar Dr. Charles Bergeron. At the University he was also in the honors school Foote-Fellow program. In 2022 Patrick returned to University of Miami to complete his master's degree, now as a teaching assistant for his mentor Dr. Bergeron. During his time in Miami, Patrick has had the opportunity to work with many great jazz artists including Dafnis Prieto, Marcus Strickland, Martin Bejerano, Brian Lynch and Luciana Souza. Currently Patrick is starting to build his reputation as an educator, teaching bass at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami. Still working closely with Dr. Bergeron, Patrick is currently developing an etude book focusing on his favorite technique: double stops. Patrick plays regularly on the Miami scene, often able to perform alongside his best friends.
The latest project on Patrick's horizon is the upcoming release of his debut album: Clover. This chordless trio project has been on his mind for many years as a way to implement his use of double stops and showcase his abilities as a writer. Half of the album features his original compositions, and the other half contains selections from some of Patrick's biggest influences: Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, and Joe Henderson. Clover features an amazing trio led by Patrick Leavy featuring Marcus Strickland on tenor saxophone, and Ludwig Afonso on drums. In the summer of 2023 and 2024, Patrick spent several weeks traveling East Asia and fell in love with the many unique jazz scenes while working on building his global network of musicians. Currently he is planning his return and tour with the music of this album.
Patrick has been told he is infectious while playing. Between smiling and dancing and throwing kicks into the air while playing such a large instrument, he gives great energy to the whole performance. Patrick no doubt takes his music seriously, but ultimately wants to keep the performance fun for both the band and audience. While his plans for the future are constantly being reassessed, Patrick hopes to continue making music his whole life, and wants to be known by future generations as a distinctly great bassist among the ranks of his heroes Christian McBride, John Pattitucci, Eddie Gomez, George Mraz, Ron Carter, Richard Davis, Scott Lafaro, etc. Stay tuned as he continues to contribute to the world of music!