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Leon Lee Dorsey was born on March 12, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The post bop genre bassist began as a child and matriculated through Oberlin College receiving two Bachelor of Music Degrees and the University of Wisconsin and the Manhattan School of Music receiving Maters degrees from both.

Dorsey’s chops for composing and arranging are witnessed on his 1995 debut album on the Landmark label titled The Watcher with Don Braden, Vincent Herring, Lafayette Harris Jr., Cecil Brooks III and Jimmy Madison followed by his 1999 release of Song of Songs that maintains a supreme sense of melody throughout the session.

He has performed and recorded with Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey, John Lewis, Cassandra Wilson, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Clarke, Jon Hendricks, Gloria Lynn, Harry “Sweets” Edison,  has played with symphonies, orchestras and big bands of Duke Ellington, Benny Carter and Charlie Persip, with opera diva Marilyn Horne and with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall.

Bassist Leon Dorsey completed his doctorate in Classical Double Bass under Ron Carter and is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz Performance at the University of Pittsburgh.

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