Columbus High Hosted Jazz Legend and Community Activist Leo Casino
(In Honor of African American History Month)
Casino was interviewed by students for a Civic Voices Project and performed with the school band

ABOUT LEO CASINO:   Leo Casino is a Grammy-nominated composer and musician artist who has recorded 100+ songs, scored, acted in 18 movies, and has appeared on a variety of television shows. He has performed at the Memphis Jazz Festival, Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival, and numerous international festivals and concerts.

In his teenage years he played with such giants as Stanley Turrentine, Cy Morocco and George Benson. Casino received a full scholarship to the prestigious Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he had the honor of becoming the country’s first jazz major studying under Donald Byrd and the great Quincy Jones. After school he moved to Miami, playing nationally and internationally with artists including James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Jimi Hendrix, Spider Martin, Jack McDuff, Benny Latimore, Roberta Flack, The Neville Brothers, Meatloaf, Viola Wells, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Grace Jones, and Bob Marley. He has played at the annual White House Party, at President Nixon’s Inauguration and the Orthopedic March and Soul Explosion (a benefit for the homeless).

Casino’s commitment to civic engagement is evident with his giving back to the community. He has lectured on race relations at colleges in Miami and around the country, and he was awarded an honorary Doctorate Degree for his work. Recently, he was the headline entertainer at a fundraiser for New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Relief and has organized similar efforts in response to the earthquake in Haiti.  He is currently promoting his latest CD, Better Days dedicated to those that lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and to their families and loved ones. Additionally, Casino was a recent keynote speaker at Florida International University’s Black Student Union’s Conference on "Empowerment: Searching and Finding Solutions."  For more information visit his website at www.leocasino.us/home.