About

Eli Leder is a bassist, arranger, composer, and educator from the Cleveland area currently living in New Jersey. 

After recently moving to the East Coast, he has found himself working in a variety of situations both as a bandleader and sideman. He has performed at Dizzy's Club (NYC), Green Room 42 (NYC), Nublu Classic (NYC), Shrine World Music Venue (NYC), Space Lounge (NJ), Berklee College of Music (Boston), and a string of performances with the Marel Hidalgo Quartet playing the music of Ernest Ranglin, including the Ellnora Guitar Festival (IL), Con Alma (PA), Cambria City Ethnic Festival (PA), Vic's Jazz Loft (PA), and Triumph Red Bank (NJ), One Art Community Center (PA).

Eli also has a strong place in the Northeast Ohio scene, having performed at Bop Stop, BluJazz+, Irishtown Bend Taphouse (Market Garden Brewery), Edwins (formerly Nighttown), Maltz PAC, and many other venues. 

Eli was a 5-year member of the Tri-C JazzFest Academy, directed by trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, where he honed his skills by studying under working Cleveland-area musicians and performing often with his peers and mentors. Eli was also a member of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, which exposed him to a wide range of contemporary classical music and provided him with opportunities to write original chamber music for various ensembles.

Eli attends William Paterson University of New Jersey, studying Jazz Bass Performance under the direction of Bill Charlap. At school, he has the opportunity to study privately with veteran bassist Marcus McLaurine and work with many seasoned NYC professionals.

Eli treats music as exploratory, searching for new sounds and considering all genres. You may catch him playing Baroque string music, bluegrass, 2000s pop, and straight-ahead swing all in one week. He is always open to new styles and learning more about music as a whole.