Greg Leisz


Gregory Brian Leisz is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar.

Biography

Leisz was born, in Buffalo, New York, on September 18, 1949. He grew up in the garage band culture of mid-1960s Southern California. He spent time at the Ash Grove, The Troubador, and clubs on the Sunset Strip. He began playing guitar and soon added dobro and lap steel, inspired to pick up the pedal steel after hearing Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Buddy Emmons. In 1975, he toured with John Stewart. He was a member of Funky Kings who released their eponymous debut album on Arista Records in 1976.
In 1987, Leisz began working with Dave Alvin. Their collaboration led to Leisz producing several of Alvin's albums, including King of California, Black Jack David, Ashgrove, and West of the West. In 1989, he played on k.d. lang's Grammy-winning Absolute Torch and Twang and joined her on the resulting tour. For the next eighteen years he toured with Lang and recorded with her, including her album Ingenue. Starting the early 1990s, he worked often with Matthew Sweet, played on Sweet's album Girlfriend and toured with him.
In January 2008, Leisz joined the group Works Progress Administration, a band composed of Leisz, Sean Watkins, his sister Sara Watkins, Glen Phillips, Benmont Tench, Luke Bulla, Pete Thomas, and Davey Faragher. The group released their debut album, WPA, on September 15, 2009.
In 2010 and 2011, Leisz toured with Ray LaMontagne as a member of his backing band, The Pariah Dogs. He toured in 2013 as a member of Eric Clapton's band, in 2015 as a member of Jackson Browne's band, and again in 2017. He appeared in the 2016 Cameron Crowe cable television series Roadies, accompanying Jackson Browne on three songs in the last episode of the series.
Leisz played mandolin on the mid-2021 Bob Dylan recordings of "Blowin' in the Wind," "Masters of War," "The Times They Are A-Changin'," "Simple Twist of Fate," "Gotta Serve Somebody," and "Not Dark Yet" produced by T-Bone Burnett and recorded and mixed by Michael Piersante for a one-time sale as Ionic Originals.
Greg married Estonian musician Mai Leisz in April 2018.

Awards

In 2010, Leisz was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist by the Americana Music Association.
In 2011 he received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for his contributions to Ray LaMontagne's album God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise.

Discography

As sideman

With Ryan Adams
  • Demolition
  • Love Is Hell
  • Ashes & Fire
With Amy Allison
  • Sad Girl
  • Sheffield Streets
With The Bangles
With Beck
  • Odelay
  • Mutations
  • Morning Phase
With Jackson Browne
  • The Naked Ride Home
  • Standing in the Breach
  • Downhill from Everywhere
With Peter Case
  • Torn Again
  • Full Service No Waiting
  • Flying Saucer Blues
  • Who's Gonna Go Your Crooked Mile?
With Eric Clapton
With Joe Cocker
  • Organic
  • Hymn for My Soul
With Holly Cole
With Paula Cole
  • This Fire
  • Amen
  • Courage
With A. J. Croce
  • Adrian James Croce
  • Cage of Muses
With David Crosby
  • Sky Trails
  • For Free
With Marshall Crenshaw
  • Life's Too Short
  • Miracle of Science
  • 447
  • What's In The Bag?
  • Jaggedland
With Shawn Colvin
  • Fat City
  • These Four Walls
With Sheryl Crow
  • The Globe Sessions
  • Wildflower
With Grey DeLisle
  • Homewrecker
  • The Graceful Ghost
  • Iron Flowers
With Don Felder
With John Fogerty
With Bill Frisell
  • Good Dog, Happy Man
  • Blues Dream
  • The Intercontinentals
  • Disfarmer
  • All We Are Saying
  • Guitar in the Space Age!
With Amy Grant
With Haim
  • Days Are Gone
  • Something to Tell You
With John Wesley Harding
  • Why We Fight
  • John Wesley Harding's New Deal
With Natalie Hemby
  • Puxico
  • Pins and Needles
With Joe Henry
  • Civilians
  • Invisible Hour
With Missy Higgins
  • The Sound of White
  • On a Clear Night
With Mark Knopfler
  • One Deep River
With Miranda Lambert
  • Revolution
  • Four the Record
  • Platinum
With k.d. lang
  • Shadowland
  • Absolute Torch and Twang
  • Ingénue
  • Drag
  • Invincible Summer
  • Watershed
With Amos Lee
  • Supply and Demand
  • Last Days at the Lodge
  • Mission Bell
  • As the Crow Flies
  • My New Moon
  • Transmissions
With Charles Lloyd
With Jim Lauderdale
  • Pretty Close to the Truth
  • Every Second Counts
With John Mayer
  • Heavier Things
  • Born and Raised
  • The Search for Everything
  • Sob Rock
With Shannon McNally
  • Jukebox Sparrows
  • Geronimo
With Joni Mitchell
  • Turbulent Indigo
  • Taming the Tiger
  • Shine
With Keb' Mo'
  • The Door
  • Big Wide Grin
  • Suitcase
With The Murmurs
  • Pristine Smut
  • Blender
With Willie Nelson
  • The Great Divide
  • Heroes
With Aaron Neville
  • I Know I've Been Changed
  • My True Story
With Randy Newman
  • Bad Love
  • Harps and Angels
With Mark Olson
  • My Own Jo Ellen
  • The Salvation Blues
With Judith Owen
  • Lost And Found
  • Somebody's Child
With Sam Phillips
  • Omnipop
  • Cameras in the Sky
With Chuck Prophet
  • Balinese Dancer
  • Homemade Blood
  • No Other Love
  • ¡Let Freedom Ring!
With Bonnie Raitt
  • Slipstream
  • Dig In Deep
With Carrie Rodriguez
  • Seven Angels on a Bicycle
  • Love and Circumstance
With Vonda Shepard
  • It's Good Eve
  • By 7:30
  • From the Sun
With Bruce Springsteen
  • Wrecking Ball
  • Western Stars
With Barbra Streisand
  • The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two
With Matthew Sweet
  • Girlfriend
  • 100% Fun
  • In Reverse
  • Kimi Ga Suki
  • Living Things
  • Sunshine Lies
With Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
With SYML
  • Nobody Lives Here
With Teddy Thompson
  • Teddy Thompson
  • Upfront & Down Low
With Tiger Army
  • Tiger Army
  • V •••–
With St. Vincent
  • Masseduction
  • Daddy's Home
With Loudon Wainwright III
  • Here Come the Choppers
  • Recovery
With Rufus Wainwright
  • Unfollow the Rules
  • Folkocracy
With Gillian Welch
  • Revival
  • Soul Journey
With Jennifer Warnes
  • The Well
  • Another Time, Another Place
With Lucinda Williams
With Robbie Williams
  • Escapology
  • Intensive Care
With Victoria Williams
  • Loose
  • Musings of a Creek Dipper
  • Water to Drink
With Brian Wilson
With Wolf Bros