TRI Allstar Leslie Mendelson

Leslie Mendelson is a Grammy nominated singer/songwriter from New York City.  Born and raised on Long Island, her father, a jazz trumpet player, exposed Leslie to a wide range of musical influences from the Bee Gees to Nina Simone.  Leslie learned to play piano by ear at a young age, by her teens she was writing songs and making her first attempts at recording demos of her compositions.

 

Joel Dorn, the legendary Grammy Award winning producer and record label executive, helped her sign her first record deal with Rykodisc Records. The young singer then worked alongside hit songwriter Steve McEwan (Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Eminem) and award winning producer/arranger Rob Mounsey (Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige, Steely Dan) to shape the sound of her album Swan Feathers, nominated for a Grammy Award in 2009. Jac Holzman, founder of Elektra and Nonesuch, said of the album:

"This is one of the tastiest pop albums of recent memory, and I say "pop" in the Carole King sense... No album of this genre has touched me so deeply. [Leslie's lyrics] come alive in her delicate and courageous phrasing... [her] songs stick to you like swan feathers caught on rubber cement."

Bob Weir saw Leslie's cover of "Friend of the Devil" and was stricken by the freshness and delicate take on such a venerable chestnut. Everyone at TRI Studios immediately started planning on a special Weir Here built around her. The chemistry was immediate and she is now a full-fledged member of the TRI Allstar family. As Bob says' "There's a lot of music to be made together in the future."

Leslie has since toured all over the US and Europe, sharing the stage with legends such as Bob Weir, Roberta Flack, Dr. John, Jimmy Webb and Levon Helm (The Band).  Her song, “All Come Together,” was featured in the Yahoo! End Of Year campaign.

"Jericho," from her forthcoming album set to release in early 2014, was made single of the week by Robert Elms on BBC London 94.9 and currently be heard on BBC Radio 2.

Watch Leslie perform at TRI Studios:

    

Learn more about Leslie Mendelson by visiting her website.