Leo Blanco

The music of pianist and composer Leo Blanco pulsates with global rhythmic elements, influenced equally by his South American roots and European classical traditions, interwoven with improvisatory developments.

Blanco was born in the Venezuelan Andes, where he absorbed folk music genres that were a mix of Afro-Caribbean, North American, and European musical styles. By age eleven, he was a violinist in the Merida Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 1996, his interest in world music and jazz brought him to Boston's Berklee College of Music, and he later earned a Master's Degree in Composition at New England Conservatory.

In 1997, Blanco became the first Latin American to win the prestigious Boston Jazz Society Award. The next year, he received the Billboard Grant Award for his commitment, achievement, and contribution to society through music. Currently, he is a faculty member at Berklee College of Music.

Blanco has shared the stage with major international jazz artists, including Terence Blanchard, Pat Metheny, Chucho Valdez (Irakere), and Joao Bosco. He has performed at numerous festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, and the Latino Festival, as well as at the Kennedy Center. Blanco has produced and composed four albums under his name.