D’origine brésilienne, Leonardo Montana est pianiste dans le groupe de Felipe Cabrera avec entre autres Orlando Poleo ou Lukmil Perez. Il se produit aussi aux cotés de Raul de Souza, Edmundo Carneiro,Irving Acao, Umberto Pagnini, Chico Freeman...

Il apprend le jazz en autodidacte en Guadeloupe et commence à se produire en 1995. En 1998, il étudie pendant avec Rémi Biet au CNR de Rouen. En 2003, il travaille avec Emile Spanyi, et rentre au Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris en 2004 au département jazz ou il étudie dans le classe de Hervé Sellin.

Born  in 1977 in La Paz of Colombian/English parents, Leonardo  Montana was brought up in Bahia (Brasil) and Guadeloupe (French West Indies) , where he started learning piano. He entered the Paris National Conservatory in 2004 , where he studied  jazz and arrangement ,with  musicians such as Riccardo del Fra ,Dre Pallemaerts, François Theberge, and Hervé Sellin  and Emil Spanyi.

As a pianist, Leonardo seeks for never falling into one musical family or classification,  and for playing with a widest range of musicians and musical esthetics  as possible. His love for the voice also leads him to work with many singers such  as Fredrika Stahl, Cynthia Saint Ville,Sofia Ribeiro,  Chloe Cailleton, Viviane de Farias, Marcia Maria, Catia Werneck…

This year, he is part  of several bands, including  Irving Acao Quartet, Anne Paceo Quintet, Cythia Saint Ville Quartet, Michael Cheret Quartet, Marcia Maria Quartet ,Anne Paceo  “Triphase” , Bruno Schorp “Colors Sextet”

In 2008 and 2010 , he composes music for two opera librettos written by Bernard Turle, in Carnoules ( south of France ) Wem Summer Festival.  In 2008  “ Variations Provençales” , composed for a jazz quintet ,choir and vocal soloists. In 2010 “Randonée Dérandonée “ for a small chamber group(2 pianos cello and viola)  , choir, and soloists. 

Based in Paris  since 2001  he  had the opportunity to play  on stage  with great musicians as  Raul de Souza, Chico Freeman, Edmundo Carneiro ,  Alexandra Grimal, ,  Irving Acao , Lukmil Perez, Anne Paceo , Ralph Bowen, Felipe Cabrera, Michael Cheret, Alexandra Grimal, Remi Vignolo…