Leon Petruzzi and Cutting Edge Music Services (CEMS)
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An Evening of Jazz
Leon Petruzzi, Ph.D.
Dr. Petruzzi is one of Long Island's premier trumpet artists and teachers. He is demand throughout the New York Metropolitan area as a lead trumpet player and as an authority on the jazz orchestra/big band. Most recently he can be heard performing with the Friday Night Big Band at Birdland and in the broadway shows Legally Blond and Curtains. He holds a Ph.D. in Trumpet Performance from New York University. His trumpet teachers include William Vacchiano, Murray Karpilovsky, Carmine Caruso, Lew Soloff, and Randy Brecker. He is equally adept in classical and jazz musical styles and has performed throughout the New York Metropolitan area in many venues including Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, the Village Vanguard, Birdland and numerous theaters. Performances have ranged from the Queens Philharmonic, the Erie Philharmonic, the Knoxville Symphony, and Nassau Symphony to jazz artists such as the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabakin Jazz Orchestra, the Lew Anderson All-star Big Band, Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Bobby Shew, The Four Freshmen; and pop artists including Tom Jones, Al Martino, The Temptations, to Broadway shows such as Tarzan, Pajama Game with Harry Connick Jr., Lennon, Little Women, Peter Pan, Cats, Dream Girls and Gypsy. His students range from beginner through adult and have achieved great success ranging from annual all-county and all-state participation to college scholarships and professional playing positions. He has been a guest soloist and conductor with many musical groups and given clinics and workshops throughout the United States including several state music conventions in Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York. Dr. Petruzzi also holds a Black Belt in Kenpo Karate and is the owner and operator of Cutting Edge Music Services. He is the trumpet professor at Hofstra University, an artist/clinician for Boosey & Hawkes/Besson Trumpets, and has recently released a CD recording entitled Solo Favorites for Trumpet and published a book on lead trumpet performance.
