Leslie Pintchik
Leslie Pintchik is an American jazz pianist and composer. She currently leads a trio with Scott Hardy on bass and Michael Sarin on drums. Early life. While growing up, Pintchik's father played tenor saxophone as a hobby, but Pintchik wasn't interested in playing music as a child. It wasn't until college that Pintchik began playing music. She attended graduate school at Columbia University, where she studied 17th century English literature. As a doctoral candidate, she taught as a teaching assistant. She decided to leave academia and pursue a new career as a pianist and received  private instruction from Bruce Barth and began playing public gigs. Jazz career. Pintchik landed a steady job playing for the brunch crowd at Bradley's in Greenwich Village, in New York City, where she first met Red Mitchell. Mitchell liked what he heard and invited her and Scott Hardy to play with him on stage. Among other venues, Pintchik's trio performs regularly at Jazz at Kitano in New York City. Personal life. Pintchik is married to musician Scott Hardy. She is known for saying onstage, "He's so good, I had no choice but to marry him!" Leslie Pintchik