David Leon
blood memory
Close Up Records
c-melody saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute & piccolo
David Leon — woodwinds
Joel Ross — vibraphone
Elias Stemeseder — piano & synthesizers
Dean Torrey — double bass
listen
w lev
Fringy Records
alto saxophone
David Leon — alto saxophone
listen
Panamerican Orchid Club
Close Up Records
alto flute & alto saxophone
————
My grandfather used to tend orchids in a greenhouse in the far corner of the yard, over by the oven he made with the extra cinderblocks and hurricane shutters. Built from spare wood and mosquito mesh, the structure kept his backyard Babylon cool in Miami’s year-round sun. It wasn’t very tall, but neither was he. Spaced evenly across the rusting water pipes, the plants hung in teakwood baskets wrapped in the wire hangers from my grandmother’s closet. The same ones she’d fashion into those long hooks for when things fell behind the cabinets. She’d say she never had any hobbies, though I’d say her midday naps are a favorite pastime. The pressure cooker whispers in the kitchen. The curtains draw as the big appliances hush their cycles. She is weightless as the armchair performs its automatic recline. Her eyes close, but the newspaper remains taut in her hands; I’m not convinced she ever really falls asleep. My father on the other hand: he will famously knock out with his finger in mid-air over the TV remote, and mean it. Before he found the conure in the yard and taught her the trick with the red and blue bottle caps, it was all about the Clive Cussler books, and the RC helicopters before that. I remember the period where he tied fishing rods, angling thread around carbon fiber to hold the guides in place. And those years with the boat and the moment with the acoustic guitar. Something always came after the next thing.
My father was a wedding photographer when he met my mother on the dance floor. She says she’d left the Panamerican Orchid Society by then—she inspired many of my grandfather’s hobbies it turns out—but I think she may have still been into keeping saltwater aquariums. Live coral, tropical fish and water chemistry: the whole thing. An octopus, once. She and my uncle loved those tanks, though his passions these days, since the hurricane sunk the sailboat and writing that novel fizzled, are mostly culinary. The sun rises to warm the cinderblocks by the greenhouse. The spent coals inside exude a sagacious glow as green guava leaves tenderly wrap themselves around the suckling pig; there is a long day ahead. My grandfather put the pig in, but my uncle will be the one to take it out. The crows at dusk cheer on the fading crackle of the embers. My mother is an avid quilter now. Her placemats keep me company at mealtime and the coasters with the snowballed corners protect all the delicate surfaces. The golden anniversary quilt hangs proudly on the wall behind the armchair for napping. Each night, I sleep under the Carpenter Star and its eight arms all point home.
David Leon
Brooklyn NY, September 2026
————
A thousand flowers to Joel and Prim for bringing themselves so fully to our music, and to Jimmy for capturing our sounds with such care. A million flowers to Daniel and Solomon for creating and maintaining so dutifully our beloved community garden, Close Up.
Joel Ross — vibraphone
Daniel Prim — drumset & maracas
Recorded live at Close Up on May 16th, 2025
All compositions by David Leon (Tropical Brutalism ASCAP)
Producer: Solomon Gottfried
Executive Producer: Daniel Gaynor
Recording Engineer: Jimmy Katz
Mix & Master: Eivind Opsvik at Greenwood Underground
Album Artwork: Tim Watson
listen
Passerine
Out Of Your Head Records
alto flute & alto saxophone
Kenny Warren — trumpet
David Leon — alto flute & saxophone
Stephan Crump — acoustic bass
listen
Hazel Eyes
Moondance (feat. Feist)
Capitol Records UK
baritone saxophone
Simon Aldred — guitar, percussion
Marc Ribot — guitar
Rod Castro — guitar
Shahzad Ismaily — bass
David Leon — baritone saxophone
Kerenza Peacock — violin
Feist (Leslie Feist) — drum programming
listen
The First Songs (Live)
David Zink Yi
alto and sopranino saxophones, clarinet, flute, piccolo, small percussion
Marvin Diz — custom sound objects, cajones, small percussion
Rodney Barreto — hybrid drum setup (drum kit and dun duns), small percussion
Yuliesky González Guerra — trumpet, small percussion
David León — alto and sopranino saxophones, clarinet, flute, piccolo, small percussion
Regis Molina — baritone and alto saxophones, flutes, small percussion
listen
Partisan Ship
Berthold Records
alto saxophone
Yuma Uesaka — clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, tenor saxophone, and bass clariflute† (tracks 1, 3, 5, 8, 10)‡
Amir ElSaffar — trumpet (tracks 1, 3, 5, 9)
Anna Webber — flute, tenor saxophone (tracks 3, 5, 8)‡
David Leon — alto saxophone (tracks 7, 9)
Layale Chaker — 5-string violin (track 7)
Elias Stemeseder — Prophet VI, Moog Minitaur, modular synths (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6)
Sam Minaie — bass (tracks 3, 5, 8)
Jon Starks — drums, Sensory Percussion, snaps, and drum machine (tracks 1-3, 5, 7-10)
listen
Canto Ostinato
Western Vinyl
woodwind arrangement; soprano, alto & tenor saxophones; flute
Andrew Cyr — conductor/artistic director
David Leon — saxophones, flutes
Madison Greenstone — clarinets, bass clarinet
Kristin Lee — violin
Isabelle Ai Durrenberger — violin
Pauline Kim — violin
Jennifer Liu — violin
Suliman Tekalli — violin
Henry Wang — violin
ERIK HALL — piano
SANDBOX PERCUSSION
Ian Rosenbaum — marimba
Terry Sweeney — marimba
Jonny Allen — vibraphone, glockenspiel, crotales
Victor Caccese — vibraphone, glockenspiel, crotales
listen
to be held
Endectomorph Music
alto saxophone
Aaron Quinn — guitar
Walter Stinson — bass
Matt Honor — drums
listen
CUMULO (Original Score)
self-released
keyboard synths and modular
Puppet protagonist, Plum, plummets through a sky-scape of sentient clouds and carnivorous creatures in an immersive journey of embodied self-transformation, supported by a cotton candy set embedded with fans, and a large-scale mobile of floating cloud islands.
David Leon — keyboard synths and modular
listen