Leonardo Suarez Paz

Violinist Leonardo Suarez-Paz is among the most sought after musicians world-wide in the area of Argentinean Tango. He also remains one of the violinists of choice in the field of Jazz and classical music. Born in 1971 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Leonardo attended Juan Manuel de Falla Conservatory, while simultaneously studying with maestros Miguel A. Bertero, Saul Costentino and Patience Higgins of the Duke Ellington band. He subsequently performed with the main orchestras in Buenos Aires, including Estable del Teatro Colon.

From 1990 to 1997 Leonardo was engaged as a violin soloist with numerous international orchestras and companies. He toured with renowned tango composer Mariano Mores in 1989 and with Atilio Stampone in 1992 throughout Columbia, Spain & Japan. During four years, Leonardo toured as a violin soloist and tango dancer with a highly acclaimed Argentine Tango show TangoX2 in USA, France, Italy, Spain, England, Greece, Japan & Mexico. His other credits as a violin soloist include Luis Miguel's Latin American tour (1995), Julio Bocca's Ballet Argentino (1996) in Italy, Spain, Israel and Egypt, and Orquesta de Hioshinori Hioneyama (1997) in Japan.

In 1997, when Leonardo was contracted as a violin soloist in the Broadway's Forever Tango, he relocated permanently to New York. In 1999, he appeared in Broadway's Tango Argentino, thus becoming the only violinist who ever played in two Argentinean Tango Broadway shows as a soloist. While he continued to perform on Broadway, “Phantom of the Opera” and “Lion King,” and in Lincoln Center with concerts of Astor Piazzolla's music, he intensively developed his career as a jazz musician and composer.

As a member of Cody Moffet's jazz ensemble Jambalaya in 1997, he appeared in The Blue Note, The Knitting Factory, and Justin's. He also played with and earned respect from the jazz greats, Stanley Jordan in the JVC Jazz Festival at Wetlands and Justin's, a renowned jazz violinist Regina Carter at Sweet Basil and Birdland, and with the Sugar Hill Quartet in Harlem. In 2002, in Birdland, he appeared with Cuartetango in a double feature with Jim Hall's trio. At the time, Leonardo and Omar Edwards, a tap dancer from Broadway's “Bring in da noise, bring in da funk”, created a Jazz band Jubalee and performed with their original jazz compositions in New York Jazz clubs and on television. In 1999 Leonardo appeared in the JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall and in Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy with a concert entitled “Tango Passion & Swing.” His jazz credits also include performing and writing an arrangement for Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orquestra.

Among Leonardo's most recent accomplishments is a creation of his own original groups: The New Acoustic Jazz Quartet, with Lewis Nash, David Finck and Dan La Maestra and Leonardo Suarez-Paz Jazz Quintet with which he recorded a CD entitled “Scream” (La Buddha Records 2000). In 1997, he formed a string quartet, Cuartetango which performs Argentinean Tango music and is in process of releasing its debut CD. He also performs classical music with New York Scandia Symphony, Strings of New York and Greenwich Symphony, and has been engaged with Andrea Bocelli's US tour. Leonardo is also featured as soloist on the soundtracks of the movies “The Impostors,” “Flawless” with Robert Deniro, and “Bossa Nova.” Leonardo's versatile discography includes recordings with Luis Miguel (”Amarte es un Placer,” EMI 1999), and Placido Domingo (”Mariachi” Capitol Records 2000), Cody Moffet (”My Favourite Things” TCB Records 2002), Stanley Jordan, Kenny Drew Jr, Charnet Moffet, Omar Edwards “Tap Dancin's is Music.” Most recently, Leonardo recorded “Tango Bar” CD with Chesky Records which received 2002 Latin Grammy nomination.