NEW YORK, - Multitalented actor Leon, best known for starring roles in The Temptations, The Five Heartbeats, Cool Runnings and The Little Richard Story will get a chance to showcase his musical chops when he and the Peoples Band join reggae legend Beres Hammond and veteran singer Marcia Griffiths (Electric Slide) on their "For The Love Of It" North American tour. The 27-city, eight-week tour, which kicks off on January 3, 2007 at the Independent in San Francisco, California will crisscross the USA, making stops in Colorado, Chicago, Albany, Hartford and New York before the grand finale at the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando, Florida. "This is a great opportunity for us to be touring with reggae stalwart Beres Hammond.
Beres has had such a long and distinguished career in the industry and is such a great performer. He is one of the best singer/songwriters and my personal favorite," Leon was quoted as saying. "We plan on learning a great deal from him and are grateful for the opportunity.
" Leon is no stranger to Jamaica. He is a frequent visitor and contributor to the island and refers to it as his backyard. He has been a fixture on the New York reggae circuit for a long time hosting numerous events for the Jamaica Tourist Board and more recently was a presenter and co-host of the International Reggae World Music Awards (IRAWMA) held at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
On stage Leon has performed for audiences worldwide, delivering compelling performances at major events like the Music Arts Festival in New Orleans; The Essence Music Festival with the legendary Temptations; New York Summer Stage; Reggae On The River in California and headlined the concert in Central Park celebrating the NYC Aids Walk (2003-2005). Last January he delivered his debut set at Rebel Salute 2006 in Jamaica where he held fans in a musical trance performing songs from his catalogue. Earlier this year he and the Peoples Band received critical acclaim for their independently produced 13-track debut album The Road Less Traveled.
Stand out songs include Working Man -- a duet with DJ Tony Rebel, Let Me Live My Life and the lead single -- a dancehall/reggae cover of the R B classic "Second That Emotion" which was recorded with dj Tanto Metro. "When I was growing up, the music I loved came from bands. The instruments are live and shine just as much as the vocals.
It was important that we took the time to nurture our sound and perform live as much as possible before recording our first album," says Leon. "The Road Less Traveled is the culmination of years of hard work and harnessing the energy and creative vision of a great team. We put together a positive representation of our sound, reggae soul," he remarked.
The Road Less Traveled was produced at Pulse Studios in New York City under the direction of executive producer JK and multi-faceted producer and underground hip hop DJ/performer Pismo. JK has worked with several artists including Herbie Hancock and Syleena Johnson. Syleena appears on the re-mixed track Bottles and Cans which was originally performed by Angie Stone.
Several other people contributed their time and talent to make the disc something special including Beres Hammond who produced New Day.
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