纯美听赏: 【Hearing the Song Listening the Silence】

Leslie & Scott Bios

Leslie Ritter’s lush tones and crystal clear melodic lines are the perfect counterpart to her partner Scott Petito’s evocative bass textures, polished guitar stylings and lovely keyboard arrangements. This gifted duo writes and delivers songs that soar, each crafted with lyrics that give a personal spin on universal themes: love and longing, that illusive balance between independence and inter-relatedness, sorrow, joy...life.

Leslie grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs. Her mother, a Julliard trained pianist and teacher and her father a French horn player, nurtured her early affinity to music. By age five she was singing show tunes, Frank Sinatra ballads and Puccini arias. Following acting studies at NYU, she appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions before moving to Woodstock, NY and devoting herself to singing.

Since then she has performed and recorded with an ever-widening circle of artists who appreciate her unique sensibilities as a live performer and superb studio vocalist. Leslie’s voice has enhanced recordings and /or live performances with James and Livingston Taylor, Robbie Dupree, David Wilcox, Rory Block, Dr. John, Jules Shear, John Sebastian, John Hall, Kris Kristofferson, Artie Traum, Rick Danko, The Fugs and others. Leslie has taught her highly sought after vocal classes at places such as the Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville, North Carolina and Song School in Lyons, Colorado.

“If you ever wondered what James Taylor would sound like if he were a girl, now you know.” - Metroland

Leslie first discovered her attraction to the duo format in 1983 when she co-founded Amy and Leslie..... “upstate New York’s premier female singing duo” - Dirty Linen
By the time she and Amy Fradon parted to pursue separate careers in 1995, they had gathered international fans, received acclaim for their VH1 video, and released three recordings. They enjoyed strong showings on Progressive Adult and College radio playlists and charted 2 Top 30 Adult Contemporary singles.

When not busy working on her own music, Leslie also sings in an overtone singing group called Prana formed by Baird Hersey. Prana's singers use their natural singing voices to move between any pitches that they can sing and then add overtones above them. Singing as a group in this unique style they create beautiful rising harmonies, shimmering vocal textures, and high arcing melodies.

Leslie and Scott have been working together on various projects since 1984. In duo performances as well as with a band, their music is infused with flavors of folk, pop and jazz. Expect the unexpected...you will be charmed by what you hear.

Scott Petito, who grew up near Woodstock, NY and studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, is the award winning producer and owner of NRS Recording Studios / Scott Petito Productions, now located in Catskill, NY. As a producer, Scott’s recordings have earned him Grammy Nominations (Trio Brubeck), Top 40 AC singles (Livingston Taylor, Amy & Leslie) European Gold records (Rory Block, Mercury Rev) and frequent placement on radio charts. He has also composed and produced musical film scores for film and television. Scott has taught his successful “Song Demolition” workshops at various locations such as the Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville, North Carolina.

“Gem-like, airy, balanced, intimate with not a note out of place." Keyboard Magazine

As a brilliant bass player, his live and recorded performance credits include The Band, Keith Richards, Allen Ginsberg, Bela Fleck, James, Livingston and Kate Taylor, Mark Knopfler, Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta, Happy and Artie Traum, Jean Redpath, John Sebastian, The Dolphins, Dave Brubeck, Tom Paxton, Stevie Wonder, Tony Trischka, Michael Franks, Brian Setzer, David Torn and hundreds of others. Scott is also the bass player for the legendary 60's punk, political, beat poet band, The Fugs. Scott recorded "The Fugs Final CD [part 1]" for Artemis Records at his studio and there has been talk of recording [part 2] in the near future.

Scott and Leslie, have been working together on various projects since 1984. Their first recording, “In The Silence”, has received international airplay and rave reviews. The song "Forgiveness" from this CD can be heard in stores all across the United States as it has been a big hit on wired music. Scott is a multi-talented musician and arranger who plays bass, guitar, mandolin and keyboards. Scott’s sensitive guitar work is the perfect accompaniment to Leslie’s rich soaring vocals. Their second recording “Circles In Sand” received quite a bit of support at radio here in the US as well as overseas and international internet stations. The duo are currently at work on their third recording.

Scott has also released a solo bass record called “Sbass Music”. This solo venture is Scott’s first foray into the world of ambient sound design. He uses the electric bass guitar to conjure up otherworldly sounds and harmonies that leave listeners in awe. He will be putting together a multi-media sound experience in order to bring this soothing music to live audiences.