Biography

HAMMOND ARTIST
Leonieke (phonetically pronounced “lay-o-nee-ka”)
Leonieke Scheuble started to play piano after being inspired by “Ray,” a movie based on the life of Ray Charles. Without any prior musical training, she began to spend great lengths of time at the piano creating pieces that were rhythmically interesting and compositionally balanced. She was 5 or 6.
At age 7, Leonieke recorded a handful of pieces including two of her own compositions. This was brought to the attention of Steve Ash, a highly respected Jazz pianist, who then agreed to take her on as a student. She has been with him ever since.
Along with vocalist Antoinette Montague, two of the world’s most respected jazz organists have also played pivotal roles in Leonieke’s development. The first is Joey DeFrancesco who introduced her to his Hammond B-3 at Dizzys Club Coca-Cola (Jazz at Lincoln Center) in February of 2011. The second is Dr. Lonnie Smith, who after meeting and hearing a clip of Leonieke, arranged for a Hammond organ to be delivered to her as a gift. Another important influence is Bob Belden, (former A&R Blue Note records). Mr. Belden introduced Leonieke to Herbie Hancock and had become a mentor (Belden) until his untimely passing.
In October of 2013, Leonieke was one of two musicians featured for an hour long special called “The Future of Jazz” over radio station WBGO (America’s premier jazz radio station). Later that month, she entered the studio of Rudy Van Gelder, widely regarded as the greatest engineer in jazz history, and began recording her first professional album, “Debut”. Among the musicians contributing their talents to this recording is NEA Jazz Master, Jimmy Cobb. Shortly after it’s release, the legendary jazz club, Birdland, added “Debut” to their house system. Her 2nd release, “Live in the Studio” (2016) was the subject of four published articles in allaboutjazz magazine where Jazz writer David Orthmann documented the entire process from rehearsal through the three day recording session.
In September 2015, Leonieke was named “Best Up and Coming Young Artist”-Hothouse NYC Fans Decision Awards, (her most prestigious honor to date). May 10, 2016 had Leonieke honored and featured in film for an audience of over 1,000 at the TEDx TALK Easton, PA event. Later that year, she performed and spoke for another TED x Event which was filmed for PBS and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/soqmMJIL_NY.
2017 was a busy year with Leonieke performing for the “Highlights in Jazz” series at Tribeca PAC, winning the New Jersey Governor’s Award for “Exceptional Promise in Music” and performing for the New Jersey jazz Society’s 45th Anniversary Gala. She was also awarded the “Youth in Action Award” from the International Women in Jazz for the 2nd time, and had the honor to selected by Carnegie Hall/Weill Music Institute as as alternate musician for their 2018 NYO JAZZ season.
Recent years have seen Leonieke develop into a jazz lecturer and featured artist at several high profile Jazz Festivals. They include the Jazz Forum Festival (2021) and the Jazz Arts Project Summer Festival, both featuring her quintet with legendary bassist, Bill Crow. Her “Generations of Jazz” Trio (also with bassist, Bill Crow) is gaining much attention in the Jazz community, and was selected as the cover of the Jersey Jazz Journal (June 2021) issue along with a featured article by Gerry Mulligan biographer, Sanford Josephson.
She can been seen performing regularly as a featured artist or leading her trio at many of New York and New Jersey’s finest Jazz venues.
Leonieke (phonetically pronounced “lay-o-nee-ka”)
Leonieke Scheuble started to play piano after being inspired by “Ray,” a movie based on the life of Ray Charles. Without any prior musical training, she began to spend great lengths of time at the piano creating pieces that were rhythmically interesting and compositionally balanced. She was 5 or 6.
At age 7, Leonieke recorded a handful of pieces including two of her own compositions. This was brought to the attention of Steve Ash, a highly respected Jazz pianist, who then agreed to take her on as a student. She has been with him ever since.
Along with vocalist Antoinette Montague, two of the world’s most respected jazz organists have also played pivotal roles in Leonieke’s development. The first is Joey DeFrancesco who introduced her to his Hammond B-3 at Dizzys Club Coca-Cola (Jazz at Lincoln Center) in February of 2011. The second is Dr. Lonnie Smith, who after meeting and hearing a clip of Leonieke, arranged for a Hammond organ to be delivered to her as a gift. Another important influence is Bob Belden, (former A&R Blue Note records). Mr. Belden introduced Leonieke to Herbie Hancock and had become a mentor (Belden) until his untimely passing.
In October of 2013, Leonieke was one of two musicians featured for an hour long special called “The Future of Jazz” over radio station WBGO (America’s premier jazz radio station). Later that month, she entered the studio of Rudy Van Gelder, widely regarded as the greatest engineer in jazz history, and began recording her first professional album, “Debut”. Among the musicians contributing their talents to this recording is NEA Jazz Master, Jimmy Cobb. Shortly after it’s release, the legendary jazz club, Birdland, added “Debut” to their house system. Her 2nd release, “Live in the Studio” (2016) was the subject of four published articles in allaboutjazz magazine where Jazz writer David Orthmann documented the entire process from rehearsal through the three day recording session.
In September 2015, Leonieke was named “Best Up and Coming Young Artist”-Hothouse NYC Fans Decision Awards, (her most prestigious honor to date). May 10, 2016 had Leonieke honored and featured in film for an audience of over 1,000 at the TEDx TALK Easton, PA event. Later that year, she performed and spoke for another TED x Event which was filmed for PBS and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/soqmMJIL_NY.
2017 was a busy year with Leonieke performing for the “Highlights in Jazz” series at Tribeca PAC, winning the New Jersey Governor’s Award for “Exceptional Promise in Music” and performing for the New Jersey jazz Society’s 45th Anniversary Gala. She was also awarded the “Youth in Action Award” from the International Women in Jazz for the 2nd time, and had the honor to selected by Carnegie Hall/Weill Music Institute as as alternate musician for their 2018 NYO JAZZ season.
Recent years have seen Leonieke develop into a jazz lecturer and featured artist at several high profile Jazz Festivals. They include the Jazz Forum Festival (2021) and the Jazz Arts Project Summer Festival, both featuring her quintet with legendary bassist, Bill Crow. Her “Generations of Jazz” Trio (also with bassist, Bill Crow) is gaining much attention in the Jazz community, and was selected as the cover of the Jersey Jazz Journal (June 2021) issue along with a featured article by Gerry Mulligan biographer, Sanford Josephson.
She can been seen performing regularly as a featured artist or leading her trio at many of New York and New Jersey’s finest Jazz venues.