Joe comes from a family of world class musicians, and has grown up immersed in the passion of musical performance. Initially, being exposed to classical music as a young boy, Joe fast developed his interest in saxophone and Jazz. Together with his band at school, he won the “Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Awards” at the tender age of sixteen. This marked the beginning of his musical journey. Trained in performance by his mother, South African concert piano champion, Lucille Leader, Joe learned how to communicate emotions and feelings to an audience, creating an atmosphere so that people can live in the passion of each note, each phrase and each song, taking them on an emotional musical journey.. After school, Joe continued to develop his craft, studying privately with some of the finest teachers from the Guild Hall school of Music in London, and then at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Finally back in London, Joe completed his studies in Music Technology, receiving 1st class honors. Joe’s well rounded studies now gave him a solid grounding in music as well as in the intricacies of music recording and production. As his professional experience grew, Joe worked with such great artists as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Pharrell Williams, Boyzone’s Stephen Gately and The Symphony Orchestra of India. He has also performed at prestigious festivals at the South Bank and , in South Africa and France. Joe’s vast travels and experience enabled him to set up and lead a 20-piece showband, called “The Joe Leader Collective.” This incredible showband launched at London’s Café de Paris to an enthralled audience. The show included performances from international vocalists, instrumentalists, break-dancers, tango dancers and even a family performance with Joe on sax, his mum on Piano and sister Serena, on violin. Joe’s powerful showband featured at many high profile charity and gala events across the country, playing an incredible variety of music. After some great times leading the showband, Joe decided to change direction and concentrate on his solo career as a recording artist, starting in the Smooth Jazz genre. With the help of some great supporters, Joe put together a smaller 8-piece band and launched his solo career with a fabulous gig, entitled “Seductive Sax”, in June 2011. The gig was held at one of London’s top Jazz clubs in Chelsea - The Pheasantry. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Joe+Leader">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.