He is a trumpeter, arranger, producer and composer who moved to Los Angeles from Fort Worth, Texas, in 1968 and began to tour and record with the duo Delaney & Bonnie which would lead to further touring and recording with artists such as The Blues Brothers, Dr. John, Glenn Frey, Little Feat, The Phantom Blues Band and Taj Mahal, who he won a Grammy and W.C. Handy Award with.
He is also a member of the duo Texcali Horns with Joe Sublett who have released their own self-titled album and featured on countless albums. In the studio he has accompanied acts, as a solo musician or as part of the Texcali Horns, that include Jimmy Buffett, T-Bone Burnett, Solomon Burke, Leonard Cohen, Buddy Guy, Jools Holland, B.B. King, Henry Mancini, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Rawls, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Smith and Stevie Ray Vaughan to name just a few.
His numerous recordings either alone or in his duo include The Texcali Horns, Anthology by Duane Allman, 36-22-36 by Jim Belushi & The Sacred Hearts, Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads by Jimmy Buffett, My Secret Heart by Eric Burdon, St. Vincent’s Court by Kim Carnes, Street Corner Heroes by Robbie Dupree, Thanks, I’ll Eat It Here by Lowell George, Shake Hands with the Devil by Kris Kristofferson, In the Still of the Night by Johnny Mathis, Wake Up Call by John Mayall, Bette by Bette Midler, Sweet and Low by Maria Muldaur, Indescribable Wow by Sam Phillips, Last Train to Memphis by Johnny Rivers, One Heartbeat by Smokey Robinson, Don’t Cry Now by Linda Ronstadt, Blue Night by Percy Sledge, the Grammy Award winning Shouting in Keyand Senor Blues by Taj Mahal, To Be Continued by The Temptations and If It Don’t Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger by Bruce Willis. As a composer and arranger he regularly collaborates with T-Bone Burnett and his work has been heard on movies such as Cold Mountain, Tooth of Crime and The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, in the stage production of Mother Courage and Her Children and Carter’s Way.
On the television his compositions for big band are featured on According to Jim and Monday Night Football.
Sources:
- http://darrell.tv/
- http://www.myspace.com/darrellleonard
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Leonard
- http://www.newlightent.com/Music%20Home/Texacali/Texacali.html
- http://www.phantombluesband.com/players.htm
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502599/
- http://www.buffettnews.com/bandmember129.html
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/629138-Darrell-Leonard