"Unusual and highly imaginative[…] Extremely expressive and interactive. Great
listener."
Jean Toussaint
"Quirky, fresh originals well executed. There are shades of Jim Hall, Scofield, Lund, and
heaps of Morland!"
Alex Garnett
Leo Morland is a musician in London. He is known for his dramatic, equally lyrical and
angular
guitar
playing, inventive and emotionally transparent compositions, and his ability to
catalyse transcendent moments of collective improvisation.
He begun his journey as a musician at the age of 9, being an improviser from the very start.
Since then he has made time for music every single day,
exploring the guitar, writing original compositions, experimenting with electronic music making and
playing in bands.
He graduated from the
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire jazz course in 2023, where he studied under some of the world's top
jazz talent
including Percy Persglove, Joe Webb, John O' Gallagher, Mark Hodgson and Jean Toussaint. During his
time
there he was the winner of the 2022 Phil Miller Prize for solo guitar, and a semifinalist in the
2023
BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year award. He has also studied with some of the UK's leading
guitarists including Ant Law and David Preston.
An active performer on the UK jazz scene, he has gigged at venues like Woolwich Works, Birmingham
Symphony Hall, the Spotted Dog, Kansas Smitty's and Cherry Red's with his original projects and as a
collaborator to emerging and established musicians like Lucy-Anne Daniels, Arnie Somogyi, Mark
Hodgson
and Nick Manz.
Taking inpiration from a huge range of artists including Reinier Baas, Adrianne Lenker, Mccoy Tyner
and
Wayne Shorter, his compositions and playing aim for visceral satisfaction and emotional truth.