JEREMY LEDBETTER
Canadian-born pianist Jeremy Ledbetter is a fiery, passionate performer whose music knows no boundaries.
​
His compositions are wildly creative and deeply emotional. At Ledbetter’s hands, the piano roars, whispers, cries, and laughs, telling stories as only he can, evoking cinematic images in the listener’s mind. A Jeremy Ledbetter performance is an experience not easily forgotten.
Throughout his career, Ledbetter has travelled the globe in search of the most fascinating musical ideas out there, then seamlessly integrated them into his own work. During his time living in Trinidad and Tobago, he became musical director to calypso icon David Rudder, a position he has now held for over two decades. His work in Venezuela brought him to the inner circle of luminaries such as Aquiles Baez, Jorge Glem, and Eliana Cuevas. Jeremy has also recorded and performed with Hermeto Pascoal (Brasil), Munir Hossn (Brasil), Daymé Arocena (Cuba), Andy Narell (USA), and many more. Jeremy approaches the music of other cultures with joy and curiosity, and the deepest respect.
​
Today, Ledbetter features prominently in many of the brightest lights of Canada's jazz and world music scene. Jeremy is currently a regular performing member with: the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio, CaneFire, the Larnell Lewis Band, OKAN, Eliana Cuevas, David Rudder, the Joy Lapps Project, Rich Brown's Abeng Quartet, the Elmer Ferrer Group, Schmaltz & Pepper, KC Roberts and the Live Revolution, Mark Kelso's Jazz Exiles, Alexis Baró, and more.
​
Jeremy is also a sought-after producer across a wide range of genres; Jeremy has produced albums for latin, calypso, jazz, soca, and salsa artists in five different countries, including Jorge Glem, Aquiles Baez, and 8 albums with David Rudder. His most recent productions include "Seré Libre" (Eliana Cuevas and the Angel Falls Orchestra, 2023) and Juno Award winner for Global Album of the Year, "Okantomi" (OKAN, 2023).
​
JEREMY LEDBETTER TRIO
Forged in a cauldron of raging, inspiring contemporary jazz, the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio pushes the boundaries of jazz and world music, providing an undiluted display of rampaging energy and captivating musicianship. Audiences must exercise caution. People who see this band are rarely the same again. If the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio were an inanimate object it would be a runaway train.
​
The Jeremy Ledbetter Trio sees Jeremy joined by Grammy-winning drummer Larnell Lewis (Snarky Puppy) and renowned electric bassist Rich Brown (Steve Coleman and Five Elements), who offer the perfect counterpart to Ledbetter’s iconoclastic energy at the piano. The Trio’s debut album “Got a Light?”, released in 2018, has been described as “a controlled explosion of big ideas and compelling musical storytelling”. Their follow-up album, "Gravity", released in Sept 2024.
CANEFIRE
Caribbean Jazz powerhouse ensemble CaneFire— dynamic, intense and fertile — creating a new music fashioned out of a myriad of Caribbean traditions, jazz, and the original vision of bandleader, founder, pianist and composer – Jeremy Ledbetter.
​
CaneFire’s signature sound revolves around its unconventional use of the steelpan — Trinidad’s contribution to the world’s array of instruments, and the only petroleum byproduct that is actually good for you. Under the hands of virtuoso Mark Mosca, the pan plays a leading role in CaneFire, taking its place alongside the horns at the front of a latin jazz combo. The tunes are an intriguing mixture of influences from everywhere and the solos draw on the deep roots of the band members, who hail from Canada, Cuba and Trinidad.
​
In recent years CaneFire has taken their unique brand of Caribbean Latin Jazz from Newfoundland to the Yukon, to South America and the Caribbean, and released two albums of original music to rave reviews.