Dana Leong

Artist Description

What would happen if you could pick your favorite artists and throw them into a flavorful pot of unexpected sights and sounds? Life After Dark by multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer Dana Leong provides an inside look into the creative process of artists from vastly differing musical and ethnic arenas handpicked by Leong.

Inspired by artist-on-artist interviews and his passion to bring wider attention to deserving artists within his musical community, Leong transforms what began as a series of collaborative recording projects in his Harlem studio, into a one-of-a-kind live multimedia concert experience. Witness the birth of borderless collaborations sonically and through projected visuals, and discover the essence of each artist and what they bring to the mix.

Composer/electro-jazz cellist Dana Leong fuses hip-hop, jazz and electronics to create a signature boundless sound.  Dana has revolutionized the cello sound with his cutting edge electronics coupled with a blend of jazz textures and improvisations.  As a composer, performer, and recording producer, Dana’s pioneering collage of musical styles has garnered critical acclaim and wowed audiences around the world. He has collaborated with top jazz artists including Paquito D’Rivera, Christian McBride, Dafnis Prieto, and Henry Threadgill; and has worked with such diverse artists as Ray Charles, Barry White, Kanye West, Wynton Marsalis, Bjork, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yoko Ono and Lila Downs.  His 4-piece ensemble, MILK & JADE, complete with a hip-hop MC, keyboards, drums , trombone, cello and laptop, recently completed their first international tour of Asia and Europe as 2008-2009 Jazz at Lincoln Center Musical Ambassadors.  His latest evening-length work for video, 6 musicians and a tap dancer, Life After Dark, was commissioned by and premiered at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY, in April 2009.  An Asian-American artist of Chinese and Japanese descent, Dana studied classical cello and jazz trombone at the Manhattan School of Music.  As an official Yamaha artist, Dana gives clinics and workshops around the globe on the use of electronics with cello and trombone, and his unique genre-bending composition and collaboration techniques.