Hailing from the soulful southern state of North Carolina, Leroy Pridgen IV is a rising trombonist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. Leroy's journey with music started at age 11 when he enrolled in the sixth-grade band and selected the trombone as his first instrument. Since those beginning years, Leroy has studied and performed in multiple styles/genres of music including jazz, classical, funk, Latin, New Orleans traditional and brass band music, and Neo-Soul. 

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Leroy began professionally performing when he was 16 when he held a chair in the trombone section of the Wilmington Big Band. Since then, he has performed across North Carolina and the US with several established ensembles, musicians, and artists such as The Black Notes Project Ensemble, The Unheard Project, Charlie Hunter, Fantasia, Sam Fribush, Shamarr Allen, John Brown, Chad Eby, Steve Haines, Rev. Don Degrate, and several artists based in North Carolina and in the regional south of the U.S. He also has performed in several regional music festivals including The North Carolina Folk Festival, Shakori Hills Grass Roots Festival, and The John Coltrane International Jazz & Blues Festival. He is the musical director for the "Too Phat Brass Band", a Greensboro, NC based brass band specializing in New Orleans brass music with a modern twist. Leroy also leads his own band which performs his original works and compositions and will be releasing his debut album, “Nefertiti's Dream”,  in May 2025.

 

Leroy graduated from the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2022 with a degree in music performance with an emphasis in jazz studies and Trombone and is currently based in Greensboro, NC.