Lenard Simpson

Lenard Simpson (alto saxophonist) was born in Milwaukee on October 28, 1994. He attended Wauwatosa East High School and participated in the school bands. Lenard studied saxophone with Eric Schoor and participated in jazz programs led by members of We Six, including their summer jazz camp (now known as the MJI Annual Summer Jazz Camp). He was selected for the Grammy High School Jazz Band and received an Outstanding Soloist Award at the Charles Mingus High School Competition in New York City. Lenard attended Northern Illinois University (NIU), earning a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance. While at NIU, he was named a 2015 Luminarts Fellow in Jazz Improvisation. After graduating in 2017, he moved to Chicago, quickly becoming one of the city’s top-call saxophonists, performing with groups led by renowned local drummers George Fludas and Charles Heath.

In 2018, Lenard was selected for the Thelonious Monk Institute (now the Herbie Hancock Institute) by a distinguished panel that included Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, James Newton, and Ambrose Akinmusire. The prestigious program included earning a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduating in 2020, he returned to Chicago, where he has led his own groups and performed at premier clubs and jazz festivals. As an in-demand sideman, he has appeared with artists such as Billy Childs, Kurt Elling, Sara Gazarek, Marquis Hill, Kiefer, and Brian Lynch. His debut album as a leader, New Beginnings, was released in March 2024.

Listen to Lenard perform his composition “The Intercessor” from his album New Beginnings, with Julius Tucker on piano, Runere Brooks on bass, and Samuel Jewell on drums, released in 2024.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtXzMqoMuRc

More information can be found at: https://lenardsimpsonmusic.com/