Harry Leahey

Harry Leahey ( born September 1, 1935 in Plattsburgh, New York, † 12 August 1990) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.

Harry Leahey began in 1948 playing the guitar and took lessons with Johnny Smith and Dennis Sandole. Later, he studied music theory and harmony at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Subsequently, he worked in numerous jazz groups, including with Don Sebesky (1973 ), Michel Legrand, Mark Murphy, Ira Sullivan, Eric Kloss, Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn, and from 1978 until his death with his own trio, especially in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and in the state with which it New York occurred. For a long time he was a member of the band by Phil Woods; he participated in the albums Silver Threads (1976) and Live from the Showboat (1977 ), which contained his composition " Rain Danse " and his arrangement of Django Reinhardt's " Manoir de mes rêves ".

In addition to an album with his trio he took another on with bassist Steve Gilmore; in March 1989 was Rudy Van Gelder's studio in a final production, the solo album Unaccompanied Guitar.

Besides being a musician, he has been active since the beginning of his career as a music teacher; first as a private teacher at his home in Plainfield (New Jersey) from 1974 to 1988 as a lecturer at the William Paterson University; his students included, inter alia, Vic Juris, Bob DeVos, Jon Herington, Warren Vache, Jack Six, Walt Bibinger, Larry Barbee and Chuck Loeb.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Still Waters ( OmniSound, 1980)
• Silver Threads ( OmniSond, 1982) with Steve Gilmore