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Created 2/4/2010
Last Visit 2/17/2019

As one reviewer once observed ‘being the finest 5-string banjo player in the UK must be rather like being the best cricketer in Virginia’. Leon Hunt has, for more than a decade, continued to confound that notion (and the many stereotypes that attempt to confine the 5-string banjo to Bluegrass music) by making his living playing alongside some of the world’s top musicians from a number of musical styles, backgrounds and disciplines.

Since graduating from his ‘Music and Music Technology’ degree in 2000 Leon has taken part in several notable ‘transatlantic’ recordings; Miles Apart (2004) Shuttle Diplomacy (2008) and Fishing Music (2009). These projects have included some of the biggest names in American traditional music; Viktor Krauss, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, David Grier and Matt Flinner to name a few.

Beyond proving his Bluegrass credentials, Leon has found himself in a diverse array of other musical settings; occasional live and/or recorded collaborations with Irish traditional music’s Michael McGoldrick and Flook, African Kora virtuoso, Sekou Kieta, Classical mandolin superstar, Caterina Lichtenberg and English Folk singer, Kate Rusby.

Leon has also enjoyed being part of several major theatre productions for The Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Rep, and The New Vic (search the web hard enough and you’ll find a very funny picture of him in a powdered wig and tights!!!)

If all of the above name dropping means nothing to you then we’ll have to resort to Anchor Butter’s major 2008 TV advertising campaign (the series of commercials with the fuzzy felt cows), that was Leon too!

"Banjo wizardry in a style totally unique. Leon plays with brilliance and soul - you don't always find the two together"

Mike Harding - BBC Radio 2

"Hunt has his bluegrass chops as good as any, but has a better appreciation of music outside the genre than most… Miles Apart stands alongside the best. He is aided by some of the top players in America and far from being overawed by them, his music and playing challenges them… as good as any American recording and better than most of them."

fRoots Magazine

"Leon Hunt is to banjo playing what Nickel Creek's Chris Thile is to mandolin, namely The Daddy. Leon shines brightest when he whips out a rendition of the Pat Metheny tune 'James'. With this record he manages to smash all preconceptions about what a banjo can and can't do and leaves you both satisfied and wanting more."

Guitarist Magazine

"This record shows how world-class Leon’s playing really is. "

Banjo NewsLetter (USA)