Patrick Leonard

Patrick Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer,.

“Pat Leonard is such a magnificent composer. I don’t think there’s anybody working today with those kinds of skills.”

-Leonard Cohen

Leonard has worked with a wide variety of artists including  Pink Floyd,  Roger Waters, Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Bryan Ferry, Julian Lennon, Rod Stewart, Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac, Jeff Beck, Bryan Adams, Peter Cetera, Jewel, Blue October, Duncan Sheik, Michael W. Smith, Marianne Faithfull, and Robbie Robertson. 

Leonard collaborated with Leonard Cohen, acting as a writer and producer for 2012’s Old Ideas and 2014’s Popular Problems, and co-writer, co-producer of 2016’s You Want It Darker. “Nevermind,” a song from Popular Problems that Leonard co-wrote and produced, was featured as the title theme for Season 2 of HBO’s True Detective.

Leonard is best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums True Blue (1986), Who’s That Girl (1987), Like a Prayer (1989), I’m Breathless (1990) and Ray of Light (1998). He scored Madonna’s 2008 documentary I Am Because We Are, played keyboards with her at Live Aid (1985), and was musical director and keyboardist on The Virgin Tour (1985) and the Who’s That Girl World Tour (1987).

Leonard’s early career featured among others, short stints as a keyboardist in Frank Zappa’s band in 1976 and  The Allman Brothers Band in 1980.

He was the founder and principal creative force of  Toy Matinee, which has since become a “cult classic”, and Third Matinee, with Richard Page. 

In 1997, Leonard released the instrumental album Rivers on his own record label, Unitone.

Currently Leonard is working on a solo album, “It All Comes Down To Mood”, to be released in 2023.