Leo Sidran
Host of The Third StoryLeo Sidran is a Grammy winning multi-instrumentalist musician, producer, arranger, composer, recording artist and podcast host based in Brooklyn, New York.
Raised around music and musicians, Sidran started writing songs professionally as a teenager when the Steve Miller Band recorded four of his songs for their 1993 Wide River album. Around the same time, he began performing regularly as a drummer with his father, renowned and multifaceted jazzman Ben Sidran.
Sidran’s seven solo albums have explored the space between pop music, jazz, Brazilian and singer songwriter genres. Jazz Magazine in France says “Leo Sidran makes pop music swing.” Jazz Times says of Leo, “Vocally he suggests an amalgam of his father Ben with a hint of Donald Fagen. His fluid laidback style is reminiscent of Bob Dorough. Musically and lyrically his compositions are smart, sharp, and sparklingly original.” His most recent album, The Art Of Conversation was released in 2021. El Pais in Spain called it a “hymn to empathy”.
In addition to his solo career he has produced or co-produced projects for artists around the world (often in the Latin music space) including the Oscar winning song “Al otro lado del rio” for Jorge Drexler (from the film The Motorcycle Diaries), the Latin Grammy winning Healer for Cuban singer Alex Cuba, Grammy Nominated Mis Americas for Argentine-American songwriter Kevin Johansen, and The Original for Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown's original funky drummer). Leo has produced all of Ben Sidran’s records for the last 15 years, most recently Swing State.
Leo’s music has been featured in hundreds of advertisements for the world’s biggest brands, and he has scored long form projects for outlets including ESPN 30 for 30, Discovery, IFC, Sundance, and PBS.
As a drummer, he has played and recorded with jazz luminaries including Phil Woods, Howard Levy, David Fathead Newman, Clark Terry, Dave Grusin, Rick Margitza, and many more. He tours regularly around the world with his father’s quartet and his love of jazz continues to inform much of his work.
Above all, Leo loves to connect with people, which is what led him to start his much heralded podcast The Third Story, featuring interviews with musicians, producers, songwriters, and others in the creative class of all ages about their personal stories and professional journeys. Although it is not specifically a jazz podcast, many of his guests have spent time exploring the space around improvisation and creation.
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Today we’re remembering Paul Motian, on what would have been his 95th birthday and revisiting his interview with Ben Sidran from the 1980s. -
Guitarist and composer Rafiq Bhatia brings music from his immersive new album Environments to 92nd Street Y on March 27. In conversation with Leo Sidran, he explains how technology, improvisation, and collaboration combine to create musical landscapes that never unfold the same way twice. -
Jazz pianist and club owner Spike Wilner reflects on Smalls and Mezzrow not just as venues, but as living containers for a scene that’s always alive—exploring community, stewardship, and his belief that jazz, practiced with care, can be a quiet force for human connection. -
NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens remembers sitting in with the Miles Davis Quintet when he was 15 years old, as he prepares to lead an all star band at Flushing Town Hall in honor of Davis’ centenary. -
Marquis Hill brings his “Family Band” to the Village Vanguard -
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Writer Larry Ratso Sloman was more than ready for his close-up when director Josh Safdie tapped him to make his Hollywood acting debut in Marty Supreme — and discovered that four days on a movie set can rival a lifetime at the typewriter. -
Roberta Flack had a sixth sense about Marcus Miller's future. -
Leo Sidran goes behind the scenes with his father, Ben at the Palm Springs Jazz Festival. Part personal narrative, part exploration of how natural phenomena like overtones, particles, and waves shape our ideas of beauty — and part look at how creative work actually gets made. -
Part personal story, part philosophical inquiry, and part behind-the-scenes look at how creative work actually gets made, Leo Sidran chronicles the process of preparing a gig with his father.
