Where the music grew

Soon playing the restaurant piano became part of Leonard’s regular routine.

In early 2024, a friend encouraged him to record himself playing the old instrument and post the videos online.

The series, “Putting the Chinese restaurant on to jams,” featured Leonard performing R&B, funk and soul covers in the restaurant and interacting with customers. Before long, the videos found an audience online.

Leonard made one thing clear: It was never about building a following; it was about having peace.

As more videos were posted, he invited his friend to join him. In every live stream, viewers suggested adding more instruments and upgrading the sound system, which he initially thought was ridiculous.

“We started bringing speakers. We started to make music. We started to remix music,” he said. “We pretty much treated it as a public studio at that point.”

Word continued to spread of Leonard’s music and the Chinese restaurant where he played. Drummers, bass players, saxophonists and singers began making their way to the restaurant, transforming an ordinary neighborhood takeout spot into an open jam session where no two performances were ever the same.

“Everything is bliss. So it’s not planned. We just show up,” he said. “I may start a groove — and usually it’s like R&B, gospel, funk, soul, somewhere in that vein — and then it takes off, because the drummer may have a way that he wants to add to the groove. We all just feed off of each other, and then we create something. It’s almost like magic.”

Audiences became part of the performance. Some sang along. Others danced. Many pulled out their phones to capture the moment. Customers who stopped in for dinner often stayed long after their food was ready.

“You’ll have some people come in, maybe to order food, and then they’ll forget that they’re in a restaurant because of everything that is happening,” he said. “They may order food and then stick around for maybe 10 to 15 minutes and then leave.”

For Leonard, the biggest change wasn’t the growing audience or the recognition. It was rediscovering the confidence he thought he had lost.

“When I picked up the … DoorDash at the Chinese restaurant, that piano was my reminder of leaning more towards my creative side and not really pushing it all the way to the side,” he said.

“Me being able to bring things to life in a Chinese restaurant with a piano, able to reach a lot of people from across the globe, it definitely built my spirit back up.”
New Number One Chinese Food restaurant in Newark, Del., is home to a jam session that is streamed worldwide. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

An imperfect piano; a perfect community

As the jam sessions grew, Leonard realized they were becoming something larger than just music.

“The piano being out of tune and not really in good shape … I actually thought it… would actually push more people away from it,” he said.

Instead, the opposite happened.

Leonard said he believes the piano’s imperfections are what made the phenomenon possible. Because the instrument is out of tune, musicians have to adapt to it and to one another, creating a sense of collaboration and shared purpose.

“We can still make it adhesive if we all agree to be in tune with the piano,” he said.

He hopes people leave the restaurant with more than a memorable performance.

“I hope they feel recharged,” he said. “They leave that restaurant feeling great, and they feel like they can do whatever they want to do. No matter what goes on in the world.”

The jam sessions have also introduced Leonard to opportunities he never imagined, connecting him with other artists and collaborators. He has even produced a couple of songs with British singer-songwriter, rapper and producer KWN.

“Honestly, I just hope it grows in a direction where it needs to,” Leonard said. “I’m just following God at this point, because I mean, to me, a year ago, I didn’t really see this happening. But it just happened.”

Leonard said he hopes to continue creating music similar to his jam sessions, curating spaces where strangers become collaborators and where art feels accessible to anyone.