LEYLAND / COOTS BOOGIE-WOOGIE PIANO JAZZ!

NOTE: Names of advance ticket buyers will be on a list at the door for check-in! Carl Sonny Leyland was born & raised on the South Coast of England, growing up close to the city of Southampton. As a child he was drawn to the American music which he heard on LP records his father would play. It was here that he developed an appreciation for Traditional Jazz and Swing, the Rock & Roll of the 1950s & the country music of Jimmie Rodgers & Hank Williams. At age 15 Leyland discovered boogie woogie when he heard a school friend working through a written arrangement of JD's Boogie Woogie (by Marvin Wright). Captivated by the sound of the repeating 8 to the bar left hand pattern, Leyland was inspired to go to the piano & begin on a path that would become his life's purpose. Within 3 months he was performing in public & shortly after would become a member of a respected local group, "The Bob Pearce Blues Band." Pearce, who posessed a great knowledge of the Blues genre, became a mentor to the young CSL. Initially influenced by boogie woogie greats Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, & Meade 'Lux' Lewis, Leyland went on to fully explore the piano blues genre, becoming an authority on early & obscure styles such as those played by Cow Cow Davenport, Little Brother Montgomery, Montana Taylor, Roosevelt Sykes, & Speckled Red, to name a few. In 1988, Leyland had the opportunity to come to the USA. This initial visit to New Orleans inspired him to relocate to that city, where he would spend the next nine years. During that time he was active on the club scene, quickly gaining a reputation for his authentic blues & early rock & roll stylings. Also, he toured with the Dallas-based band Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets, whose line up included blues great Sam Myers. In 1997, feeling the need for a change, Leyland relocated to Southern California, where he joined Big Sandy & His Flyrite Boys, the well known rockabilly & western swing group with whom he toured for over three years. By this time h