Pianist Jeremy Ledbetter, a graduate of York University’s music program in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), has always let music guide his path. It recently led him and his band, the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio, to win a Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year (Group) at this year’s ceremony.
Ledbetter’s music career has always been a journey.
When he arrived at York University, he brought with him a background in classical music but a curiosity for styles like jazz and Cuban music. That curiosity found a home in AMPD’s openness to diverse study, which he credits as key to his growth.
“York’s music program allowed me to study a lot of different things in one place, which was a great fit for me and helped me stay open-minded,” he says.
During his undergraduate years, Ledbetter was drawn to an exchange opportunity at the University of the Southern Caribbean. There, he discovered calypso music – sparking what became a musical pilgrimage around the globe.
“Music was always the thing that decided where I would go next,” says Ledbetter, who spent time in Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Australia and Brazil seeking out new musical landscapes.
“I wasn’t travelling and studying music to be able to write about it,” he says. “I wanted to be able to play it, create it, understand it from the inside out.”
That drive has shaped Ledbetter into an in-demand producer known for his fluency in a wide range of styles, including Latin, calypso, jazz, soca and salsa. His work has earned him an Independent Music Award and a nomination for Producer of the Year at the 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards. He also won a previous Juno for Global Music Album of the Year as producer of Okantomi by OKAN, a Canadian Afro-Cuban jazz group.
Beyond producing, Ledbetter is also a celebrated composer and performer. His latest Juno win recognizes Gravity, a project recorded with the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio, featuring Grammy-winning drummer Larnell Lewis and electric bassist Rich Brown. The album draws from the diversity of Ledbetter’s background, blending jazz, rock, funk and Latin influences.
Though grateful for the recognition, Ledbetter says it’s the work itself that matters most.
“I’m just very happy to have made an album I’m proud of, that my peers appreciate and that people are hearing and connecting with,” he says. “At the end of the day, that’s the reason we do this.”
As his musical journey continues, curiosity remains his compass.
“If you can play more than one kind of music, more than one instrument, and have more hats you can wear in this industry, the better your chances of being able to find success.”
And there’s likely more success ahead. As he said during his most recent Juno acceptance speech, “I can’t wait to see what’s next.”