• Leon Redbone
• 8:00pm

Bedecked in his omnipresent fedora, dark glasses and sporting his distinctive Groucho Marx ‘stache, Leon Redbone’s neo-vaudeville crooning makes him an instantly recognizable character. Little is actually known about him however, as he has taken pains throughout his career to avoid divulging any information about his background or personal life. Legend has it, that when approached by producer John Hammond, Redbone gave him the number for a Dial-A-Joke line, rather than give up his actual number.

Early in his career it was thought that Redbone was Canadian; he first emerged as a performer in Toronto during the 1970s. His established himself as a skilled performer of pre-World War II ragtime, jazz and blues sounds, recalling the work of performers ranging from Jelly Roll Morton to Bing Crosby. 1976 saw his debut with On the Track, featuring jazz violinist Joe Venuti as well as singer/songwriter Don McLean. In 1977 his follow-up Double Time reached the U.S. Top 40 charts, largely on the strength of his frequent appearances on television's "Saturday Night Live”.

Since 1978 Redbone has only recorded sporadically, it was nearly four years after 1981's Branch to Branch, that he re-entered the studio to cut Red to Blue. Invariably, his albums featured guest appearances from an eclectic cast of musicians. His 1987 release Christmas Island included a cameo by Dr. John, 1994's Whistling in the Wind included duets with Ringo Starr and Merle Haggard. Redbone has also earned a certain measure of fame as a fixture in various television advertising campaigns. His most recent television foray saw him guest on “Sesame Street” early in 2008.

These days Redbone typically performs solo, or duo with piano, with a wide-ranging repertoire that shifts from Dylan, to Jelly Roll Morton to Eddy Arnold. One thing is for certain, a Leon Redbone show is not to be missed.